Tart with a subtle sweet note.
1oz Southern Comfort
.5oz Vanilla Thrilla (I know! I'm sure something better could be substituted. It's what I had on hand.)
2oz Pomegranate juice (Pom)
.5oz Lemon juice
Shake with ice, serve in cocktail glass.
Honestly, it's really good. I just wanted to use some of the things I had on hand. And follow through on doing a SoCo cocktail, even though I didn't have a complete ingredient list for the ones I had listed earlier.
*face in hands*
I am a drinking SLACKER. I heartily apologize. Life and a bit of a tight money situation has left my cocktail and other beverage exploits a bit lacking.
Imbibe Unfiltered asks, "What makes a great bar?"
To me, it's a healthy combination of atmosphere, bartenders, the likelihood of finding a seat at the bar... and bar hooks.
I finally found a place that serves good mojitos. Granted, there was no crushed ice, but there was plenty of mint, a healthy dose of lime, and a hint of sweetness without being cloying. If they weren't $9.50 a pop, I would've downed at least two. Damn Columbia and its exorbitant prices.
Way to go, Clyde's of Columbia.
Hello forlorn blog. It's been a while. I haven't even kept my promise to try the new and exciting SoCo cocktails below... and I even have a bottle of SoCo. It's mostly due to the lack of fresh lime/lemon in the house, and a rather hectic time schedule, making it hard to concentrate on creating a good cocktail.
I have to admit that I'm absolutely obsessed with the Mojito. Obsessed. So, so, good. There has been much talk about the Mojito around the cocktail blogs I frequent, so apparently I'm not the only one :)
Next summer will definitely see the addition of a mint plant in a tub on my deck. Perhaps I'll even order that Cuban mint that is the authentic Mojito mint.
I've decided, too, that I may have found a nice, easy, bar drink (I generally refrain from "interesting" cocktails at bars, as the generally don't know them, or they're just too complicated, and I don't want to annoy the bartender... especially since most cocktails can go horribly wrong if done incorrectly): A rum and tonic, with a wedge of lime (to squeeze into said drink).
One night as I got lazy making Mojitos (because, really, it's pretty labor intensive, especially as one gets tipsy) I started just refilling my glass with rum, lime, and topping with tonic. By the second time around doing that, the mint flavor is pretty much gone... but it was still tasty! Ergo: new bar drink!
I mean, there's Gin & Tonics, Vodka Tonics... why not a Rum Tonic!
Rum is, after all, my favorite liquor.
I did a test run this past weekend using a split of cava - Freixenet, my favorite.
1 cup Brandy (not flavored) Wound up forgetting to buy brandy, so I used the SoCo that I had purchased for cocktails. Wasn't half bad.
1/2 cup Amaretto (vice orange liqueur)
No sugar
1 thinly sliced peach I used a nectarine, which strangely had pink-colored flesh; it was surprising. This time I blanched (to de-skin) before slicing. Next time I think I'll slice, then de-skin each individual slice, in order to get thinner slices)
1 cubed/sliced mango1 pint raspberries Oops, I forgot. Will remember for next time, though. I'm sure the flavors will go well
Cava
I over-estimated the amount of cava in the split (I'm not sure why I didn't check the mL to cup ratio and then go from there, but a split only has about a cup and a half of liquid) and put in a tad too much SoCo/Amaretto (1/2 cup and 1/4 cup, respectively). It was still tasty, just a little too alcohol-y.
I also added tropical-mix juice. A little more than I would do normally, simply to counterbalance the poor alcohol ratios above. I'll probably add maybe a cup or so to the full recipe.
All in all, the flavors came out great. I really enjoyed the anisette and how it complemented the flavors of the fruit. Definitely a winner.
Okay, so here are my preliminary thoughts on a non-citrus Sangria Blanca
1 cup Brandy (not flavored)
1/2 cup Amaretto (vice orange liqueur)
No sugar
1 thinly sliced peach
1 cubed/sliced mango
1 pint raspberries
Cava
Theoretical method: mix Brandy and Amaretto together, add peach and mango, and let sit. Before serving add raspberries and Cava.
Possible garnish: Use a melon-baller (or other small scooper) to create small scoops of Mango/Tropical/Peach sorbet. (Last time I wanted to attempt this, I could not find a melon baller. Of course, I only looked at the grocery store.) Add a couple to glass to help keep Sangria chilled.
I think the woody flavors of mango will complement the sweet peach/amaretto and tart raspberries, well. Here's hoping!
California Pizza Kitchen (Baltimore) wasn't much better. I'm not sure what the deal was, but it definitely was not good. I think they might have confused ginger ale and club soda. I should've gone for one of their "flavored" mojitos.
I'd like to try my hand at sangria. Although there are a lot of recipes out there, they all (for the most part) include orange, and my best friend is allergic to orange... ergo... bad.
The random function in CocktailDB leads one down interesting paths.
I went there Friday evening with some friends, and it seems as though they're trying to present themselves in a cocktailian fashion, except they're failing horribly at it.
They had some "classic" cocktails on the menu, which didn't seem classically prepared at all, and none of their "martinis" expressly included gin; none of them. And we're not talking all bastardized -tini drinks, either, because they had several vodka martini choices.
They even had a "007," "Shaken, not Stirred!" martini. How about we go for the real deal and include the Vesper, instead—the true Bond cocktail.
I ordered a Mojito (they actually had it on the menu! so I was initially excited about it), and although it wasn't a horrible drink, the mint portion consisted of flakes of mint floating around the glass, that I occasionally sucked up with the straw. It didn't even use crushed ice, come to think of it, whereas the Gin Rickey did (for some unfathomable reason, note the above where I said how classic cocktails were not classically prepared). Not even a single mint leaf as garnish!
So, okay, maybe it's too much to expect a large chain with a name echoing pin-up girls to make good cocktails. Oh, well.
I've yet to find a cocktailian location in my local area. I'll have to keep an eye out.
I learned via CocktailDB that a Pink Squirrel using Amaretto (instead of Creme de Noyeaux, which gives the cocktail its rosy hue) is called a Gatsby. Hum. Who knew?
Well, let's be honest, it's a Mojito-like drink, but with a twist. I have a ton of mint that needed to be used up, but I didn't want to make yet another Mojito.
I created a drink using vodka (approx 1.5-2oz), lemon juice (approx .75oz), raspberry syrup (approx .75oz) and muddled mint, topped with club soda.
It's tasty, but I think I might try to up the raspberry syrup (well, and next time I'll actually measure so that I have an idea of proportions, too) to get more raspberry flavor.
I also think it may be interesting to try a mint julep type beverage using Amaretto instead of whisk(e)y.
Mint is a lot of fun, I really need to buy a plant of my own.
Well, at least that's what CocktailDB calls it. Seems like there are many different versions using that name.
Anyway, I wanted to find a cocktail that used lemon and rum, since I've been having so many lime drinks, I haven't been using up my lemons. This one looked perfect - not only did it have lemon and rum, but it was complimented by some raspberry syrup, which I happen to have on hand, as well!
I know, this blog has turned into All Mojito, All the Time!, but, really, I don't mind waxing poetic about them.
In any case, there's an actual company dedicated to Mojitos and products to ease the Mojito-making process. They even have Mojito glasses.
The glasses cost 5 bucks a pop! (in a set of four, for $20). My PomTea costs the same amount, and you get a glass AND a beverage! Plus, you don't have to pay shipping. Honestly, they look like the exact same glass, except mine say "PomTea" on them, which I don't mind at all. I'm not that picky.
Otherwise, I'd say hit up a restaurant supplier or a discount store, to see if you can find them for cheaper.
Note to self, however, purchase a bona-fide muddler.
My electric ice crusher (as opposed to my manual cube-crusher) has two settings, coarse ("C") and fine ("F") (..at least, that's how I interpret the letters). I had been using fine-crushed ice, but this last go-round I decided to try coarse-crushed.
No noticeable difference aside from a greater ability to slide the straw into the finished product. I suppose coarse-crushed allows for more soda to be added, as well, and I think I may prefer fine simply to avoid that result. Either way, using crushed ice (as opposed to cubed) presents a striking vision of a Mojito for cooling off - a minty-fresh libation in a glass filled with spirit and ice - could it get any better?
Just a quickie. The other day I made another Mojito, this time topped off with club soda vice Sprite.
The lack of sweetness was apparent, but I can't say whether I really prefer one over the other. They're simply ... different. I will say that a club soda Mojito seemed to pair better with a meal (I happened to be having spicy buffalo wings, a good compliment to the cool drink) than the Sprite version.
However, after I'm finished with the drink it is my wont to (when I'm not in the mood to get tipsy) fill the glass with more mixer to make the most of the minty goodness, and I definitely prefer the Sprite for that purpose.
On that note - I think topping some muddled mint with Sprite would make a great "virgin" Mojito for any young ones (especially in the years where they desperately want to fit in with the adults).
Also, in a fun convergence of events, Thinking Bartender has published an in-depth post on Mojitos.
Perhaps I'll stir next time - My methodology so far has been to build in glass, shake a little, then add ice and soda. We'll see.
Saturday night I was served by a bartender who could not make a Bay Breeze correctly. A Bay Breeze!
First of all, when I ordered, he got this confused look on his face and asked "Malibu Bay Breeze?", to which I replied "no, just normal".
He proceded to make me some sort of drink that included Bacardi, and what I think was pineapple and orange juice. Um, what?
I didn't say anything because I knew it was a lost cause. I drank the amalgam he made and went on my way.
*shakes head and sighs*
The Mojito may be one of my new favorite cocktails. I have a feeling this one will make several appearances over the summer. I pretty much used the recipe linked above, but, since I currently did not have any club soda on hand, I used Sprite, instead. I greatly enjoy it, although I will try it with plain soda and see if I would like a drier version.
Yum yum.
Isn't that the perfect vessel for this drink? I used my PomTea glasses ;) Perfect.
So, with this cocktail, I've made my foray into the raw egg as an ingredient. It has an enjoyable pink hue (and I do adore pink), but I'm not sure I really taste any "raspberry". It tastes, ah, very gin. Now, I don't normally drink gin, so that could contribute to my perception of overpowering gin flavor.
Perhaps I need to use another gin than Tanqueray. I'm not a gin connoisseur (well, let's face it - I'm not really a connoisseur in general), so I'm not sure if a different gin would imbue a more subtle flavor, or be more appropriate for this cocktail (such as the Aviator gin used on The Spirit World). Nonetheless, it's pretty tasty overall. A nice way for me to enjoy gin aside from the normal gin and tonic or martini.
Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake hard for about a minute to form a good froth. Strain into a cocktail glass.
I used Tanqueray, Torani Raspberry Syrup, and fresh egg white.
Possible substitutions include using lime juice instead of lemon juice, and using grenadine in place of raspberry syrup.
I saw this recipe on The Spirit World... looks like a must-try for me. It's a little out of my comfort zone, since it uses gin, but piques my interest.
Will have to search out some Raspberry syrup (looks like they used Torani), which may be at the grocery store. It also suggested grenadine as a replacement, but those two have slightly different flavor profiles, though I may try it right away with that option (since I have it on hand).
Edit: If I can't find Torani, I've noticed some people using a Smucker's version of raspberry syrup... probably from their "fancy dessert swirly stuff" collection. So, maybe we'll try that if I can't find Torani.
It's fate - I was recently hoping for a good recipe to use my lemons.
Tonight I made another daiquiri, and had the presence of mind to snap a photo before imbibing. The quality is not great, due to the fact that I use my camera-phone - it has great quality for a camera-phone, but pales in comparison to a regular digicam. Nonetheless, it's good enough to get my point across!
Right now I'm enjoying one of my favorite cocktails to enjoy at home - perhaps due to its simplicity - the daiquiri. And, by daiquiri, I mean the original - not some blended strawberry-flavored sugar ice.
I often make a large batch of my Cosmo recipe for use at parties and assorted get-togethers. My general mode of employing a large batch is to mix up the ingredients, then shake up a measured amount for each cocktail.
The last time, I knew I wouldn't be able to stand by the cocktails all night shaking them, and so I just put it in a beverage dispenser and off I went. I remember thinking that it seemed a little stronger than it should be, and I recently found out why - I forgot the water that gets into the drink from shaking it with ice.
The Bar Mix Master indicates that a cocktail is composed of about 1/4 - 1/3 water, which needs to be factored into the large-scale cocktail recipe.
Since Cosmos are shaken a lot, I would go for a 1/3-part water ratio.
So, if we're going to make a quart (32 oz) of Cosmo, here's the recipe:
I saw this recipe on eGullet's Spirits & Cocktails forum (how's that for some linkage?!). I happen to have some beautiful fresh limes on hand... I may have to try this:
Take a clean soda bottle (8oz is fine). Fill it half-way with sugar.I would interpret this recipe as:
Fill the other half with water. Cap. Shake well. Let settle.
This takes 5 minutes.
Shake 2 more times until syrup is clear.
Zest of 1 lime, and add that to the bottled syrup. Save lime.
Cap, and give a light shake. Put directly into fridge.
Do not cut lime until the next day.
Next day, strain lime syrup, and then put back into bottle.
Juice lime.
Add lime syrup to taste.
This is a cosmopolitan whose flavor is similar to the best cosmopolitan cocktail I've had - at Johansson's Dining House's pub (called the Two Headed Pheasant Draught House and Pub, technically, but much easier to say "Johansson's Upstairs"), by the (now retired) awesome bartender, Nick.
What makes this cosmo different from most is the slightly higher ratio of lime juice. This greater amount balances out the vodka, giving the cocktail a smoother finish.
I'll be honest... I'm not much of a cocktail "snob" - I really have no problem with things such as Rose's Lime Juice and purchasing sour mix (whatever makes things easier!), especially for this kind of "low-end" cocktail.
Simple syrup is used in a lot of the classic drink cocktails (and necessary if one were to do their own 'sour' mix). It's like the name, simple.
I created this little blog to help capture, in one place, cocktails, recipes and such as I explore mixology. I am by no means an expert, simply a hobbyist :) You'll find herein a mix of restaurant/bar cocktail reviews, cocktail recipe reviews, and perhaps even a recipe or two developed by yours truly. Not a bartender, simply someone interested in the art of mixology.
To me, the art of mixing beverage flavors together is simply an extension of gourmet cooking. I'm attracted to this due to the accessibility of it all - no need for (expensive) fancy equipment, no need for complete disasters if something doesn't come out well... If a drink turns out bad, adjust on the next one accordingly - no need to throw out an entire meal!
So, there you go; think of this... as my personal mixology notebook.
