Boozy In Oak: The El Presidente

Last Christmas, I gave Cooper a small barrel, designed by Drinking Made Easy host Zane Lamprey.

It sat empty for a looong time. As it turns out, coming up with a drink to age isn't as easy as I expected it to be. There are tons of age-able drinks, but to age a drink, it needs to be primarily straight booze. You can't stick Sprite - or whatever - in a barrel and expect it to sit well for four to six weeks.

Finally, about a month ago, I took the leap, making a batch of El Presidentes, the classic pre-Prohibition Cuban cocktail, and pouring them into the barrel. (I used this recipe, but replaced the Curacao with Grand Marnier.)

We unveiled the drink over the weekend, at the annual Carol and Crawl party hosted by Alicia, Mike, Bill, Kyle and Mary. (Note: The C and C has evolved past caroling or crawling. It's just a one-house Christmas party these days. But we keep the name.)

And the results? Unsurprisingly, it's still boozy. I wouldn't light a match anywhere near it. But the drink was much mellower than I remember it being before I poured it into the barrel. I was surprised, though, that I didn't get a whole lot of oaky flavor. Which was fine - just surprising.

 The first whiff is definitely intense, and the definitely best over ice, after a little of that ice has melted. But considering that I'm not much of a straight-liquor cocktail kind of girl, I thought it was really pretty good.

Now I just need to figure out what goes in the barrel next!

Slate + Jello Shots

In his highly entertaining article about Jello shots (including a spot of NSA history!), Troy Patterson says:

Try a gin-and-tonic jello shot. Store-brand tonic will do the trick, but for the gin I recommend something distinctly floral, like Dorothy Parker American gin, which I started buying for existential reasons related to my self-conception as its target demographic.

I like Patterson's pop culture-related reviews, but his Drinks column has me convinced that if we met, we'd be total besties. I love marketing-related self awareness. Also, gin.

I do wonder, though, how long it took him to decide to end the column it with "Wiggle it, just a little bit" vs. "Wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle, yeah." That really could've gone either way.

Happy Hour Friday: Tea

Tea is so hot right now - and I don't just mean that literally.

I've had tea on my mind thanks, in part, to Nakiya, who is a huge fan, and who has been posting about tea like crazy on Facebook. With those posts settled in my subconcious, a March 2012 Martha Stewart Living article about Bellocq, a fancy new tea atelier in New York, rang a few alarm bells. Tea is trendy.

Which means that tea cocktails have the potential to be super trendy. Tea offers so much flexibility in terms of flavor...and it also offers so many ways to infuse a cocktail with the extra little oomph that "artisanal" ingredients provide. Hipster bartenders must love it.

Of course, one of nice things about using tea in drinks is that it's easy to make and use at home. These recipes from Veetea, using loose leaves, are all fairly simple and they sound genuinely good. And how cool is this - Tea Forte (a brand I like already) sells cocktail infusion tea bags. That is some sweet product development right there.

And, of course, there's the summertime joy that is sweet tea vodka.

I've been a fan of tea since I was a kid - it's what my dad drinks instead of coffee, which he gave up when he quit smoking, waaaay back in the '70s. I've always thought of it as a bracing morning drink and also as a sweet match for mid-afternoon crustless sandwiches and pastries.

And isn't afternoon tea really just a non-boozy early cocktail hour, anyway? It's only natural that we welcome tea to the adult portion of the evening. So welcome, tea. Welcome to happy hour.

Happy Hour Friday: Just Purchased

This magical poster:

Classic cocktails + infographics? Yes, please. I haven't figured out where, exactly, it'll be hanging in our house, but as soon as I saw it, I knew I had to have it. So many things I love, all in one place.

From Pop Chart Lab.

Happy Hour Friday: MORE Purple Cocktails

It's week two of the playoffs here in Baltimore, which means it's week two of purple drinking here at M&G (week one is here). Fortunately, this week, Google delivered me some new and interesting options, courtesy of The Kitchn. The commenters there definitely know how to drink!

My new purple favorites:

• The Aviation: gin, lemon juice, creme de violette and a spoonful of maraschino liquor, garnished with a maraschino cherrie (I looove cherries, since I looove Shirley Temples)
• The Stratosphere: champagne, creme de violette and a lemon twist (pretty!)
• The Concord Grape Mimosa: just champers and grape juice - but it would have to be really good grape juice, without too much added sugar

Or maybe this week, blue food coloring + red food coloring + Miller Lite. If you want to class it up.

Either way, go Ravens!

Happy Hour Friday: Purple Reign Cocktails

It's purple Friday here in Baltimore, which explains why I woke up in the middle of the night trying to craft purple cocktails in my head. I was stuck on something involving grenadine and blue curacao, which really doesn't sound good, not even in a retro way (though I did end up seeing an online recipe that mixes exactly those ingredients).

Fortunately, the internet is there for me. Unfortunately, most of the drinks I saw sounded horrendous. "Make a clear drink and drop a purple Skittle in it" - really?

But I did find a couple of decent ideas, courtesy of a Chowhound thread. So if you're in a Ravens kind of mood today and looking for a drink with team spirit, give one of these a try:

• The Superhero: vodka, tequila, blueberry syrup and raspberries
• Lavender Cosmo: vodka, parfait amour, cranberry juice and lime (parfait amour is an orange-flavored liqueur that looks purple - and that's difficult to find, but apparently very good)

Or just stick with the Natty Boh. That works, too.

UPDATE: A mindmeld between Kathy and Sarah G. in the comments sent me searching for the violet-flavored liqueur creme de violette, and that's when I found the Rothman & Winter website. The site has a bunch of cocktail recipes that sound like they might turn out purple...and delicious. I especially like the sound of the Toulouse (vodka, creme de violette and vanilla liqueur) and the Yale Cocktail (gin, vermouth and creme de violette). A quick search shows that the Drillaud brand of creme de violette is available at Beltway Liquors.

UPDATE #2: I just discovered this is my 1,500th post! Good luck for the Ravens, maybe?

Happy Hour Friday: The UFO

First ever "Happy Hour Friday"! Once a week, I'll write about a drink that's caught my eye. First up: the UFO, which is made of one part genever, or Holland gin, and two parts bitter lemon soda.

I have to admit, it wasn't the UFO itself that caught my eye - it was the ingredients. Genever, which is regular gin's juniper-based ancestor, is all over the place lately - clearly the new it booze. Bitter lemon soda is having a bit of a moment in the sun, as well, for some reason. So put them both together, and you've clearly got the Next Big Thing.

Although, the UFO is probably best enjoyed someplace hot and sunny, like, say, Roswell. Because I have to admit, dark, cold mornings don't exactly make me go reaching for the bitter lemon bottle.

Holiday-Friendly G&Ts

I'm pretty sure that's what this is. This, by the way, is a powerful-sounding gin, tonic and champagne cocktail created by Brooks Reitz, the guy behind Jack Rudy tonic, which I have been dying to try, but have forced myself not to buy because it is just so bloody expensive.

You know what makes me want to bite that bullet, though, and buy it? This quote from Reitz, in the Julia Reed piece introducing his new cocktail column at Fetch:

My biggest fear was making something ourselves and having it turn out not to be delicious - just because it’s homemade doesn’t always make it better.

Amen, brother.

Also in the Reed article: a brief aside about Plymouth gin being the favorite brand of the John D. MacDonald character, Travis McGee. I had no idea. My parents have just about the whole collection of Travis McGee books in their basement - all the titles have colors in them, and when I was little, I spent time trying to memorize all the books. I know, useful - but I'd be very prepared if I came across a JDM category on Jeopardy one day.

But back to that drink. It sounds intriguing - the ingredients are all things I like. The question is, would it be worth the hangover? Because when you're mixing gin and champagne, the morning after's gotta be a mess, right?

And Now It's Fall

This makes me happy. I should note, too, that a lower rent version of this made me happy for most of college. It's tough to go wrong with bourbon and ginger.

No, let me rephrase that. It's easy for things to go wrong when bourbon and ginger is involved. But it still tastes good.

[Hugh Acheson's bourbon and spicy ginger soda from Garden & Gun.]

The Heat Makes Me Crazy

But it also makes me make delicious drinks - like Planter's Punch from the Peninsula Grill in Charleston (courtesy of Garden & Gun):

I made myself one of those yesterday and it was perfect - refreshing and also as tropical as the crazy steamy weather.

Today, I'm thinking about making one (or two, or three...) of these:

That's the Barefoot in the Park cocktail from The Surrey's rooftop bar (as seen on Tory Burch's blog). It sounds amazing and I'm pretty sure that I even have a bottle of guava nectar lying around here someplace, so I should be able to whip it up without breaking a sweat.

Cocktail-making in the heat isn't really all that crazy. It's practical - staying hydrated and all. What IS crazy, though, is how much the heat makes me want to shop. Right now, I am actively holding myself back from buying a new dress. I don't need a new dress - I have a trillion summer dresses. But it's so hard to remember that when I'm faced with the Milly website. I mean, just look at this:

And this:

It's so hard to say no.

But it is so, so much less spendy to stick to buying ingredients for summer cocktails. I just have to remember that, no matter how much the heat goes to my head!

Royal Weddings & Summer Cocktails

Can we talk about this for a minute?

Not that I'm the first person to mention the wedding online. Ha.

Actually, right up until I turned on the TV on Friday (at 7 AM, not 4 AM), I thought I didn't care about the wedding at all. Nobody was more surprised than I was that...I did. I watched the ceremony and spent all day looking at pictures and reading accounts online, through a thin and somewhat inexplicable veil of tears. I can't believe it, but I cared.

I think my caring might have more to do with the way the wedding was handled, and the reaction of the rest of the world, rather than a previously hidden affinity for royals. The ceremony was beautiful and traditional (I like), Kate's dress was so pretty and tasteful (I love), the guest list was full of actual dignitaries, not movie stars (refreshing!) and online, even anonymous commenters were gracious and positive - snark was very difficult to find (amazing!). The carriage of the families involved and the gracious attitude of the people watching was heartening and inspiring. Hence the thin veil of tears.

Speaking of inspiring, I was inspired, by the wedding and Nakiya Schurman, to find myself a bottle of Pimm's. I finally got one on Friday and set about making a simple Pimm's cup. A couple of pours and a quick stir later, I'd forgotten all about the Negroni disaster - because I found my new summer drink and I'm not looking back.

The drink could not be simpler. I filled a rocks glass with ice, added two ounces of Pimm's and filled the rest of the glass with sparkling lemonade (I got mine from Trader Joe's. I added a small squeeze of lemon and a slice of cucumber and there I was, saying things like, "Cheerio!" and "Good DAY!"

Seriously, it's a fantastic drink. Crazy refreshing and not terribly alcoholic. Also, quite popular. Over the weekend, I served these drinks to a bunch of different people and they all agreed: it's good.

So there it is, my summer drink. Cheerio! Good DAY!

Trendy: Campari



Pretty bottle.

 About a week ago, Alicia wrote a note on my FB wall, "Negroni...your summer cocktail!" Negroni, I thought, that sounds about right. Summery and pretty and very, very trendy.

It just so happened that I'd been reading up about Campari, the bitter liqueur that makes up one-third of the negroni mix. The May issue of Bon Appetit includes a small feature about cocktails made with Campari and Aperol (last summer's fling) - including simple and alluring negroni recipe. Garden & Gun also weighs in this month, with a Kentucky-style negroni that replaces the traditional gin with bourbon.

As if those mentions weren't enough to convince me that Campari is trendy, over the weekend I flipped through an issue of Vogue Living Australia from last fall and realized that 2010 was the150th anniversary of Campari. No wonder it's all over the place - they're still celebrating.

So in keeping with this celebratory mood, I decided to try out that negroni. If I could lock in my summer cocktail now, I thought, I'd be way ahead of the game. So off to the liquor store I went.

I followed the strictly traditional recipe for the drink: 2 oz. Campari, 2 oz. gin (I used Tanqueray) and 2 oz. sweet vermouth. I stirred them together, then poured the mixture over ice in a rocks glass.

The result is pretty. The Campari's golden red color gives the drink a warm glow that's really appealing. I looked at the drink and thought, yes, this is it. I will be drinking these all summer long:

Gorgeous!

Then I took a sip. And then I walked right over to the kitchen sink and spit it out. Sadly, the negroni is not for me. I know some people love them, but apparently I am just not that sophisticated. That, or I'm more sensitive to bitter flavors (I strongly dislike broccoli rabe for the same reason). Whatever it is, my negroni tasted like extra bitter-flavored Robotussin. Fine if you're trying to sleep off a cold, not so fine in a summer drink.

So that is my sad tale of the summer cocktail that wasn't. But it doesn't change the fact that Campari is enjoying some time in the spotlight. And since I've got a nearly full bottle of it in the bar now, I'll have to look into some alternate uses. Campari Champagne Cocktail anyone?

Trendy: Moonshine

Yesterday, the LA Times. Today, Garden & Gun.

My one and only up close experience with moonshine came in college, when my friend Kim brought a bottle of something boozy her grandfather made at home to a vaguely sorority-related event. If I remember correctly - and believe me, I might not remember this correctly - it tasted exactly how I expected moonshine to taste: kind of like rubbing alcohol smells.

Somehow, I'm guessing that the fancy moonshine (oxymoron?) that's turning up at bars in LA these days is a bit more refined than the stuff Kim's granddad concocted in his backyard shed or his bathtub or wherever. Not to knock his distilling skills. He was just ahead of his time, I'm sure.

Trendy Entertaining: Punch (and other drinks)

Punch is everywhere these days - in glasses and on the bookshelf. Earlier this year, I was inspired to buy myself a big, lovely punchbowl (vintage and a little beat up, since the real things are kind of scary expensive) and this week, I've been wishing that we were having a New Year's Eve party, just so I could experiment with a big batch of punch.

Yesterday's G&G newsletter (from which the top image is pulled) featured a bracing combination of tea, rum, brandy, bourbon and champagne called the Chatham Artillery Punch - named after the Georgia military unit that supposedly came up with the concoction (though I'm guessing the after-effects feel like artilerry, too).

Speaking of drinking, Social Primer is writing a social graces "bill of rites" and his most recent installment is called, "Handle Your Liquor." It's funny and useful, though it's admittedly geared towards men. Specifically, I think women everywhere should ignore the advice not to drink champagne cocktails, or cocktails at all, for that matter (SP prefers "drinks" over "cocktails" and while I see his point, "cocktail" is too fun a word to banish from my vocabulary.)

Whatever your libation, have fun celebrating tonight and have a happy New Year!

Thanksgiving Recap: In Which Kit & Cail Throw Down, Cocktail-Style

Yes, Thanksgiving was several weeks ago. I'm running a bit late with this post, but better late than never - especially when it comes to shellfish and cocktails, right?

For Thanksgiving, Cooper and Dixon and I alternate years with the Waskoms and the Pollards - one year we go to one house, the next we go to the other house. This year was a Waskom year, which means it was also an Oysters Waskom year. The family masterpiece: Oysters Waskom are my mom's recipe - the oysters are topped with a sauteed spinach and Monterey jack mixture then put on the grill for a few minutes. The recipe mainly lives inside my mom's head (when I've tried to make it, the results have varied) and it's one of my favorite things about "R" month dinners at my parents.

This year, my parents added another shellfish to the mix, making stuffies: This recipe also exists inside my mom's head - but I know that it involves chorizo, which is responsible for all the grease you can see in the pictures.

The stuffies were a new addition and a welcome one. The spicy and savory flavor of the clams was offered a fantastic counterpoint to the lemony, spinachy oysters.

Of course, while we were busy with our shellfish, we were also busy with something else: the first ever Waskom Fall Cocktail Throwdown. I was inspired by Alicia and Mike's family throwdown (it involved cranberries), so I suggested that we do something similar, but with cocktails, not food. In the end, only Cail and I participated, which was probably for the best, since both of us created cocktails that were, um, a little boozy.

My sister took on the tough task of judging. Here she is, holding Cail's cocktail:
Cail's drink was vodka-based and combined cranberry puree (fall!) with a New Orleansy vibe (Creole Shrubb). The menu - topped with a homemeade cranberry and orange scone:

The drink was good - refreshing, interesting and seasonal. It was also totally different from my drink, which was a combination of bourbon, honey bourbon, pear liqueur, a pear cider and rosemary reduction, and ginger beer:

Bourbon was an admittedly risky choice for me, since most of my family doesn't drink much of it (as an aside, there's not much major mixology in the Waskom house anyway - most drink mixing involves little more than adding tonic to gin). Fortunately, I was able to browbeat Erin into judging the cocktails not on what she personally liked, but on what "people like."

In the end, that browbeating worked and I was the big winner, though everybody also agreed that Cail's drink is the one they'd order in a restaurant.

And then we went inside and ate way too much fried turkey, oyster stuffing, butternut squash casserole, mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts with bacon, followed by a rousing rendition of kids vs. parents Trivial Pursuit. I'm sorry to say that this year, the parents won (even though there are only two of them and at this point, with Cail and Cooper, there are five of us).

Oysters to start, then competition. Then turkey and more oysters, then more competition. A truly Waskom Thanksgiving all around.

How the Irish Celebrate (Sometimes)

By the time I met Mike and Alicia, they were already engaged, so I didn't go to their engagement party. In the years since, though, I've heard (more than a few times) about what they drank to celebrate: black velvets.

Interestingly, the drink was originally created to mourn the passing of Prince Albert, so it's not exactly a celebratory beverage. But still, it's Irish and it involves champagne, which makes it celebratory enough for me.

After our Dom Perignon debacle on Sunday, Cooper was feeling inspired, so on Tuesday he brought home a six-pack of Guinness. I rooted around in the basement and found a bottle of California sparkling wine (possibly left over from one of Kyle and Mary's wedding events) that would fit our champagne needs, and we started pouring.

Pouring too fast, actually. Instead of looking up how to make the drink, Cooper just started mixing and we ended up with a murky, fizzy mess of Guinness and champagne - not the carefully constructed layered creation the drink is supposed to be.

Plus, while the black velvet was certainly interesting texturally - the smooth Guinness provides a nice contrast to the fizzy champagne - the flavor was a little weirdly bitter for me. I like both pieces separately, but together they just weren't my cup of tea, so to speak.

Does that mean I'm not sufficiently Irish to appreciate it? Or did our shoddy construction influence the taste? Or is it just that it's not supposed to be drunk on a random Tuesday night?

Trendy: Infused Whatever

Apparently infusing is so hot right now and this does not surprise me even a little bit, as I have been infusing the hell out of both liquor and simple syrup for the past few months (it happened last summer, too).

Right now, in my kitchen, this trend is looking a little something like this:
"That" is simple syrup infused with lemon, mint and rosemary. Since it's the end of summer, I'm in a rush to use all of our herbs before they shrivel up and die - and drinking herbs always seems like a good idea.

Here's how I make it:

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups water
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• zest of 2 lemons (cut into big chunks)
• mint leaves from 3 sprigs

Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and cook over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until all the sugar is dissolved (don't boil). Remove the pan from the heat and add the rosemary, lemon zest and mint leaves to the syrup. Let them steep until the syrup cools, then remove the mint leaves. (Mint is strong.) Place the rest in the refrigerator to chill for an hour or two (or a day or two).

Before using, strain the syrup to remove the zest and rosemary.

We use this to make a drink that is so refreshing, it's kind of dangerous. Fill a rocks glass with ice and add a shot of gin (or vodka, if you're into that sort of thing). Top with three tablespoons of syrup and one tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, then fill the glass the rest of the way with selzer. Stir and prepare to be refreshed.

Speaking of selzer, it's become the hot secret ingredient around our house lately. Like bacon, it seems to make everything better.

How Manly Is Your Drink?

The real question is: where would Labbatt Blue Light Lime fall on this chart? I'm sure that's what Cooper's dying to know.

(Via AskMen.com)

I Need a Punch Bowl

Because tonight we will be drinking this:

Out of a bowl from Crate & Barrel that I think was designed for pasta salad.

"This," by the way, is peach sangria made from a recipe Garden & Gun dug up from the Charleston restaurant Slightly North of Broad. I made it last night, as it needs 24 hours to sit, but even then it tasted good.

And, in case you're wondering, yes, I did take a picture of it while it was already in the fridge. Not in the photo: the plastic wrap I pulled back from the bowl and the 15 Capri Sun apple juices right next to it.

Summer Drink Recipe: Martha's Yellow Tomato Bloody Mary

I'm swamped (again) with work this morning, but I am also staring at a ton of freshly grown tomatoes that are just begging to be made into a drink - like this one. Sounds like a perfect way to kick off a summer brunch, right? And a great way to use the piles of tomatoes everybody's got this year.

It feels like the opposite of last year - when our plants yielded about three tomatoes (but fifteen thousand habaneros).

Speaking of overwhelming amounts of produce, it's fig season again here at the Pollard abode. So once again, I'm in search of new ways to use huge amounts of figs. Suggestions are welcome!