Cocktail Recipe du Jour: Weekly Special

Reposting this delicious recipe!

Weekly Special

In your iced tin, pour:

1/3 Grapefruit Juice (1 oz)

1/3 Gin (1 oz Cascade Mountain)

1/6 Maraschino Liqueur (1/2 oz Luxardo)

1/6 Kümmel (1/2 oz Helbing)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. 

Shake and strain into a cocktail glass

Garnish with a cherry

Cheers!

Cocktail Recipe du Jour: The Jack-O-Lantern

Try this cocktail to ghoul it up this Halloween season!

1 ounce Hennessy VSOP Cognac 

1 1/2 ounces orange juice 

1/2 ounce ginger ale 

1/2 ounce Grand Marnier orange liqueur 

Orange wheel and lime twist for garnish

Monday's This & That

Whilst I deal with Monday's "dog-eat-dog" feeling, how's abouts we see what's floating around the interwebs?

Let's start with this article of some "secrets" of Lucy and Ricky...you have to click a billion times to get them all, but hey - you had nothing better to do, right?

Here are 25 cocktail recipes that apparently everyone should know.  Study them all for the test on Friday (when you can drink yourself in to oblivion over the weekend).

So you like to read about grisly deaths on set, do you?  Well then this article is for you...some you may have heard of, others not so much.  Unfortunately, most deaths are from dear stuntmen just doing their job.

And lastly, here's a list of 10 Audrey Hepburn Quotes with fabulous photos of her to peruse. #3's about makeup is particularly inspirational.

Enjoy!

All Hail the Bloody Mary!

I was blessed a while ago to receive a copy of Bloody Marys from author Judy Bennett, and have just had the time to write about it!

Bloody Marys: Sanguine Solutions for a Slew of Situations includes over 40 Bloody Mary recipes, but Bennett offers more than that... she also provides vintage photographs, trivia, insight, and myths, and tons of humor.

And the insight is not limited to mixology.  For example, Bennett writes, "Despite what the police and your dad tell you, a person is never more vulnerable than when sitting in the pumpty-up chair of a new hairdresser."  SO TRUE.

And next to the Bloody Mary recipe "I've Decided to Go Back to College" (that includes some tasty ingredients like hot sauce and a pepperoncini garnish) there is career advice.  "Try to remember what you wanted to be when you grew up, and see if that career path has the same appeal now."

If you notice, I'm not sharing any complete recipes here. BECAUSE YOU SHOULD BUY THIS BOOK!  Yes, my goal is to try every one of the 45 Bloody Mary recipes.  But just sitting and reading the book (sans cocktail) was equally entertaining.  All there's left to do is raise a glass to the Bloody Mary Manager, Judy Bennett!

Cocktail Recipe Du Jour: The B&B (and B)

If you've ever watched the Mel Brooks classic "High Anxiety" (like I have) and were captured by the 70's portrayal of the piano bar and cocktail scene (like I was), you'll appreciate this.  

In the 1977 film that pays homage to Hitchcock classics, psychiatrist Dr. Thorndyke (Brooks) suffers from "high anxiety" (a.k.a. vertigo).  One of his patients is a mystery that he is trying to unravel.  The patient's daughter Victoria is trying to assist him in his findings, so of course they meet at a piano bar to discuss matters.  Cut to the piano bar where we find Thorndyke and Victoria sitting by the piano, and a waiter is bringing them drinks.  "Here you have a B&B," he says, handing the drink to Thorndyke, "and you had the B and B and B," he finishes, handing Victoria her drink.

So what is a B&B, you ask?  Glad you asked.

Cocktail Recipe Du Jour: The Fuzzy Navel

Did you know there are three different ways to make what people think is the typical "Fuzzy Navel"?

First, a history lesson: the 1980's brought a revival of cocktails and mixed drinks, and the fuzzy navel was one of the first to come forward. Over 30 years ago Ray Foley, a well known bartender and founder of Bartender Magazine was cutting an orange for a garnish when a man nearby made the remark that he could still smell the fuzz of the peach schnapps through the orange juice. Ray looked at the orange and saw the printed word "Navel" on the navel orange, and was inspired.

So what are the three ways to make it? There's the typical Fuzzy Navel:
In a rocks glass, over ice, pour 1 oz. Peach Schnapps and then fill with orange juice.

Then there's the Hairy Navel:
In a collins glass, over ice, pour 1 oz. vodka, 1/2 oz. Peach Schnapps, and then fill with orange juice.

And then there's the Pierced Navel:
In a collins glass, over ice, pour 1 oz. tequila, 1/2 oz. Peach Schnapps, and then fill with orange juice.

So now you know there are 3 ways to have your belly button cocktails!  Cheers!

Cocktail Recipe Du Jour: Alabama Slammer

Alabama Slammer

Legend has it that the colorful cocktail was first shaken at the University of Alabama in 1975.  There's also been said to have been made famous by Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre.  However, this drink was popular with college crowds as early as the 1980s, and is mentioned in the Playboy Bartender's Guide published in 1971.  The name could've originated from where it was invented, but it could just be from the inclusion of Sloe Gin and Southern Comfort.

I learned how to make it in bartending school the following way:

In a collins glass, pour:
1 oz. Sloe Gin
1/2 oz. Amaretto
1/2 oz. Southern Comfort
Fill with OJ
Garnish with an orange slice, cherry, or both

Best part was, to help us remember the ingredients, our teacher Betty gave us this phrase as a mnemonic device: "Slow Comfortable Screw With Nuts" (Sloe Comfort OJ Amaretto).

Cocktail Recipe Du Jour

Wanna feel sky-high this evening?  Try this one...

Walk on the Moon
2 oz blackberry schnapps
1 oz vodka
3 oz cola
3 oz milk

Pour all in to a cocktail shaker and shake, pour over ice in a tall glass. Garnish with a sprig of mint.

Bottoms up!

Cocktail Recipe Du Jour

With the creepy craze still in full effect, I thought I'd share with you the drink called The Zombie!

The Zombie was not invented as a link to any horror genre, but rather as early as the 1930's by Hollywood restaurateur Don the Beachcomber as a hangover cure.  Once the tiki craze hit in the 60's, the drink really took off, with it's tropical undertones of rum and pineapple juice. 

In a collins glass, pour:
1 oz. Dark Rum, 1 oz. Light Rum, 1 oz. Creme de Almond.
THEN FILL THE GLASS WITH ICE.
Add 1/2 oz. Triple Sec, 1 oz. Sweet & Sour, 1 oz. Pineapple Juice (some recipes also add papaya juice, passion fruit nectar, apricot juice, or other fruit juices.
Float 151 as a lid (by pouring it into a spoon and gently dipping it under the surface of the drink).
If you're feeling saucy, take a match to this cocktail: it'll light up nicely!
Garnish with cherry, pineapple, mint, or a tropical kabob like lemon or orange, pineapple, and cherries.
Enjoy...but don't drink too many, or you'll become the "Walking Dead"!

Cocktail Recipe Du Jour

The Singapore Sling
I previously wrote about the effects of a night with the cocktail, but how do you make a Singapore Sling?

D. A. Embury stated in the Fine Art of Mixing Drinks: "Of all the recipes published for [this drink] I have never seen any two that were alike."

Some sources say the "original recipe" contains gin with cherry brandy and orange, pineapple, and lime juice.  Others use gin, Cherry Heering, Bénédictine, and fresh pineapple juice, primarily from Sarawak pineapples which enhance the flavor and create a foamy top.

Bartending 101: Your Guide to Garnishes

Finishing your drink with the right garnish can make or break your cocktail.  (And no one wants a broken cocktail!  I mean, I'd still drink it, but I wouldn't enjoy it as much.)  As a bartender, I've met plenty of finicky people whose order is so detailed, especially specifying the garnish.  They not only are the visual finishing touch to a cocktail, but the taste of the garnish effects the drink.  So if you're stocking your bar, you want to make sure you have these accouterments ready to make the best cocktail service for your visitors!

Lemon slice
These are probably the most popular, usually added to gin and tonics, but can be requested for various other drinks.  You want to cut off both ends.  Then slice the lemon in half.  Lay each half down and cut in to half-moon slices.  Lay each half-moon slice down and cut in to the flesh at the middle, only halfway, so that the slice will stay in place on the glass's rim.

Lemon twists
This is primarily the rind used for its essential oil.  To make lemon twists, cut off both ends of the lemon. Insert a sharp knife or spoon between the rind and meat of the lemon and carefully separate them. Cut the rind into strips. The outside of the lemon is where the flavor lies. When adding a lemon twist to a drink, slowly rim the edge of the glass with the outside of the lemon twist and then drop the twist into the cocktail.

How to Make the Perfect Vodka Gimlet

The Vodka Gimlet seems pretty straight-forward as cocktails go, but there's actually some small nuances that can change the entire taste.  So take it from me, there's a not-so-perfect way to make it, and a PERFECT way to make it.  Here's MY way:

Pop Quiz, Hot Shot: When someone orders (or asks you for) a Vodka Gimlet, what's your first question to ask?

BoozeQuest Research: The Best Bloody Mary

I'm reposting "vintage" posts that had previously only appeared on the now-defunct blog SorryIGotDrunk.com.  This is a follow up to the 8-part series called "BoozeQuest."  Please enjoy.

We at the Booze Quest Labs have been taking the past couple months researching the best Bloody Mary in Los Angeles. It's been quite painstaking and extensive, but I think I've found the perfect mixture of tomato juice, spices, garnishes, and any other item that can make an outstanding cocktail. Here are my findings:

Jerry's Deli, Studio City, CA:
Glass: daiquiri glass
Consistency: watery
Strength: weak. Probably less than 1 shot of vodka
Garnish: lemon wedge
Analysis: Seeing the paleness of the cocktail got my hopes up that it would be a stronger drink, but it was just water that made the Bloody Mary at Jerry's so washed-out. I barely tasted any kick or spices, so it tasted essentially like a watery tomato juice. Even after adding Tabasco sauce, it still was not tasty enough.
Final score: 3/10

BoozeQuest: The Singapore Sling

I usually order Vodka Collins when I go to bar.  But when I got tickets to The Magic Castle in Hollywood, I thought I'd go for something fancier -- the Singapore Sling.

If you've never been to The Magic Castle, it is a private club for magicians and their friends that is nestled in the hills of Hollywood.  Inside is a multi-story mansion with gothic décor and a bar around every corner.  They have a few showrooms where you can see magic shows, and you have to dress up and bring a lot of cash because everything is over-priced.  I especially like going because -- for some reason -- I'm always picked as the magician's unwitting volunteer to assist in a trick or two.

I get a group of five of us to go and after saying "Open Sesame!" a wall slides open and we're in the club.  We head directly for the piano lounge and get the waitress' attention. The cocktail waitress shortly returns with our drinks.

BoozeQuest: Shots & Chasers

 

I'm going to San Diego with Gina for the weekend to gamble my paycheck away at an Indian Casino.  The casino has a very traditional, Vegas feel.  I feel a little old school atmosphere warrants more flexibility and adventure.  So this weekend's drink, no -- theme -- is going to be Shots and Chasers.

I arrive at the casino Friday and head straight for the bar with Gina.  We order a tequila shot and beers.  The bartender - the smart, savvy businessman that he is - upsells us to a higher caliber of tequila.

Round #1:  1800 Tequila shot, Budweiser chaser

Gina and I toast to our luck and down the shot.  It's so smooth that it goes down quickly and I don't even need the lime.  The bartender gives us a "Good luck, ladies," and we're on our way to the slots.  We decide to head to the cheap penny slots - to keep our money for booze.  The slots are more like games in the penny section; if you hit a certain combo they bring up a bonus round where you make picks and play a mini-game.  We find two machines next to each other and I stick in a 20 dollar bill.

Booze Quest: The Mojito

I decide to give the Mojito a try when Gina and I meet some friends for a Girls' Night.  My friend Summer says they make the best Mojitos at this place.  I've had a good Mojito before, so I'm up to the challenge.  I find the group in a back room taking up a big booth, and I settle in between Summer and Missy.

Drink #1:  First round.  It seems more minty than I'd like, but it's still good.  The bartender muddled the mint leaves well, and it's garnished nicely.  Overall presentation is good, but the flavor could improve.  Meanwhile the girls are having a real detailed conversation about male genitalia.  I'm going to need another drink.

Cocktail Recipe Du Jour

While I finished getting dressed, here's a quick drink recipe for you to try -- great as an after-dinner cocktail.

The Locust
In your cocktail shaker, pour:
1/2 oz. White Creme de Cacao
1/2 oz. White Creme de Menthe
1 1/2 oz. cream

Shake and strain in to a stemmed, chilled glass.
Float 1/2 oz. of Bacardi 151 on top.

...And if you hold the 151, you have a Cricket.

Cheers!

BoozeQuest: The Flirtini

I go to my friend Sasha's house for a barbecue.  She is especially excited that I came because she wants me to make drinks.  (This has become one of my biggest problems now: you go to a party, they hear you went to Bartending School, and they want you to make the drinks.  What happened to just being a guest?)  I agree to make drinks for her because I'm what you may call a Giver.  But agree to do it on one condition: everyone has to give me lots of tips.

I decide to make the debatable Flirtini.  I say debatable, because the drink became known during two different seasons of "Sex and the City."  Apparently in one season the drink was made one way, and in the next it was made a different way.  So sometimes it's made with primarily pineapple juice and champagne, but I decide to make them the other way: with the addition of Raspberry Stoli. (For the detailed recipe, go to my post on the drink called Cocktail Recipe du Jour.  After making a batch for about 4 or 5 people, I pour myself one.

Booze Quest: The Vodka Collins

My co-worker Tess is going to perform in a comedy show, so I decide on the Vodka Collins for the night.  I go with two of my male co-workers Thomas and Jim and we find a table near the stage.  "Oh great," Jim says.  "We're definitely going to get heckled up front." 

Drink #1: The waitress brings me my Vodka Collins and asks if that's what my second drink will be, to comply with their two-drink minimum.  "Yes, but -" I start, but she's already walking away.  I don't know why I had to order it right at that moment, but I shrug it off.

How to Make the Perfect Martini

According to Ketel One's website for their "Ultimate Martini," you "pour 1.5 oz. of vodka and stir it with ice in a cocktail shaker. Strain into a rocks glass over ice and garnish with a lemon twist.  This can be tailored to personal taste with the addition of olives, olive brine, dry vermouth, etc."  But......

Here's what I say:

1. Lots of olives please, and make it a little dirty (topped with a float of olive brine). 

2. It doesn't need vermouth, in my opinion.  It takes away the flavor of the vodka.  And if you've bought good vodka, it doesn't need much else.

3. As previously posted (from what I learned in Bartending School), the perfect martini should never be shaken.  It should be stirred, and stirred gently to not "bruise" the vodka.

4. The vodka should always be kept in the freezer so that it is ice cold and ready.

5. It doesn't need a lemon twist if it haves olives.  Just give me those olives!

By the way, if you add cocktail onions, you're no longer drinking a martini.  You're drinking a Gibson.  And some believe a "true" martini is made with gin, but I disagree, and so would PAH-LENTY of vodka drinkers out there.  I think you can have your martini with vodka or gin.  It's up to you.

Cheers!