Recipe: Daiquiri

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.

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz light rum
• 0.5 oz lime juice
• 1 tsp sugar (or 0.5 oz simple syrup)

Method

Shake all ingredients over shaved ice, strain into cocktail glass. Optionally, garnish with lime.

Comments

I used my lime simple syrup this time around, just to give it more of a lime kick. I think it turned out well. Shaved ice is too complicated for me for a single cocktail, but I have an ice cube crusher, so I simply use crushed ice. Also, I use Cruzan Rum, which has much less of a bite than Bacardi.

All in all, the flavors were balanced - a bite of alcohol behind the sweet-tart lime flavor. Perfect.

Tip: Scaling up my Cosmo Recipe

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:

Ingredients

• 10 oz Water
• 7 oz Citrus vodka
• 4 oz Triple Sec
• 5.5 oz Sweetened Lime Juice
• 5.5 oz Cranberry Cocktail

Method

Combine ingredients in container, shake to mix, and refrigerate until chilled.

Cocktail Creations

Recipe & Review: Santiago Cocktail

Last night, I tried out a cocktail I've been meaning to try out for a while, now - the Santiago Cocktail. It's a bit of a twist on the Daiquiri:

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz light rum
• 1 tsp grenadine
• 2 oz lime juice (juice of whole lime)
• 1 tsp sugar

Method

Shake over ice, strain into cocktail glass.

Let me first say that I cannot remember for the life of me where I got this recipe. In doing research post-tasting, I found most recipes use 1/4 tsp grenadine, and indicate the use of powdered sugar. Also, most recipes simply say "juice of 1 lime".

Regarding the lime: the limes I have at home are beautiful - very large and deep green. These large limes only produced about 1.5 oz of juice, and I use a (manual) juicer. I can't imagine a "normal" lime producing more than 1 oz of juice. In the interest of following the recipe, I juiced half another lime to get the full 2 oz, which brings me to my review...

I found it to be much too tart. I would probably cut back the lime to 1.5 oz or even 1 oz to cut the tartness. I also used granulated (instead of powdered) sugar, so I'm not sure if that would have an impact on the taste - I did mix the lime and sugar together in order to fully dissolve the sugar beforehand. The grenadine (yes, I used Rose's) seemed lost within the lime flavor. Since I used a full teaspoon (not 1/4), I can't imagine how the normal recipes would have turned out (lacking said grenadine).

Some things I would like to try in future tests:

• Use less lime juice (try 1oz, then 1.5oz)
• Continue usage of 1 tsp grenadine, perhaps with less lime, less grenadine will be necessary, however
• Try using the sweetened lime juice in place of sugar/lime combo.
• Try making own grenadine and using in place of Rose's

Sweetened Lime Juice

Last night I also began the first step for the sweetened lime juice. Rather than shaking the sugar/water in a bottle, I simple heated on the stove until sugar was dissolved (not heating to boiling). I used a 1:1 sugar/water ratio. I found neat 8oz pour-stoppered glass bottles at Target, so that's what the syrup is currently housed in. Excited to try it out. Perhaps I'll be a Rose's to fresh convert... :)

Recipe: Sweetened Lime Juice

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.
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.

I would interpret this recipe as:

Ingredients

• 1 cup simple syrup (cooked or shaken)
• Zest of 1 lime
• Juice of 1 lime

Method

1. Steep zest in simple syrup overnight, in fridge.
2. Strain resulting lime syrup and re-bottle.
3. As needed, add lime syrup, to taste, to fresh lime juice for exceptional sweetened lime juice.

Comments

I want to try this in a cosmo, to see how the flavors differentiate.

Recipe: Alex's Cosmo a la Johansson's

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.

Ingredients

• 1 oz citrus vodka
• .5 oz Triple Sec
• .75 oz Rose's Lime Juice
• .75 oz cranberry cocktail

Method

1. Combine ingredients and shake over ice until metal has frosted.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass
3. If desired, garnish with lime wedge.

Comments

The citrus vodka is necessary for this drink to have the proper flavor. Aside from that, you may use any sort of citrus vodka, though since this isn't a high-end drink, I tend to stick to the lower-quality ones. I use Smirnoff for a small group or Barton's if it's a large party. This is a perfect "cheap" cocktail that tastes great, if you want to throw a large gig.

Recipe: Simple Syrup

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.

Ingredients

• 1 cup* sugar
• 1 cup water

Method

1. Combine sugar and water in saucepan.
2. Heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves (boiling).
3. Boil for a couple minutes
4. Let cool, bottle up, and store in fridge until needed.

Comments

.5 oz simple syrup = 1 tsp sugar.
*I've seen, more recently, more usage of a 2:1 sugar to water ratio. It seems as this is the preferred concentration for cocktails.

Numero Uno

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.