Vow of Silence

It seems that certain combination of spirits always results in endless variations of a similar cocktail. Which is not bad, as it allows you to gain an understanding of the small nuances between recipes, as well as helps you refine your palette as you look for those differing qualities.

This cocktail is just that, a play on the timeless pairing of gin, chartreuse and rosemary. Many cocktails have been made using these three ingredients, as they work so well together. Taking these flavors and adding modifiers or playing with ratios, results in cocktails with similar, and at the same time, differing qualities. This particular cocktail is currently on my menu at the Oyster Bar at Bayou on Bay and has been very popular in the last couple of months.

Vow of Silence
1 1/2 oz Rosemary Infused Gin
3/4 oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth
3/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse

April Reboot…and a cocktail

Hey All,

I do apologize for my absence of late. The past two months have been incredibly busy, and coupled with some personal stuff, I just haven’t found the time to post anything. But now I am back, and hopefully will be regaling you with all sorts of fantastic stuff!

For those that don’t know, I am now managing the bar at the Bayou Oyster Bar. Look for a new seasonally rotating menu and some other cool stuff in the coming months. If you want to come and visit me while I’m working, I am there most Friday and Saturday nights.

I also had the pleasure of attending Tales of the Cocktail on Tour Vancouver this past February, and I’ll have a couple posts about some of the sessions I attended up soon.

And last, but not least, I have a cocktail for you. This cocktail comes from the PDT Cocktail Book, but I believe is an original creation from The Raines Law Room. The pairing of gin, aperol, and cucumber is an absolute delight. Perfectly balanced and refreshing, this is one drink that you must try at least once, if not twice. Cheers!

The Archangel
2 oz Plymouth Gin
3/4 oz Aperol
2 slices muddled Cucumber

Tea and Crumpets

This last week I made some fresh lemon curd for brunch with some friends. Lemon curd is light, both sweet and tart, and is a fantastic addition to any brunch. Not only that, it is ridiculously easy to make on your own!

Start by mixing together the eggs, sugar and lemon juice (freshly squeezed please) in a double boiler set on medium-low. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. This usually takes about ten minutes. Remove from heat and add in the butter and lemon zest. Stir until the butter is completely melted into the mixture. Now you can either just cover and cool in the fridge, or you can take the extra step of straining the mixture through a fine sieve to remove any chunks of egg that may have formed. I usually skip this last step as any little bits are usually too small to be noticed.

Lemon Curd
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
5 Tbsp unsalted butter (room temp)
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest

Now that we have our lemon curd, lets make a drink with it!

Breakfast themed cocktails have been on the rise as of late, and a good number of them seem to include such ingredients as black tea, lemon, marmalade, jams, honey, etc. Since I love all of these things, I had to go with the flow and mimic the masses, albeit with my own twists.

I started with an earl grey infused genever, added some homemade lemoncello and lemon curd, included a generous dash of simple syrup, and finished it all off with some lemon bitters. The resulting drink is fantastic; with the biscuity malt, astringent tea, and lemon flavors all coming together in harmony. Give it a try, I am sure you will like it. Cheers!

Tea and Crumpets
1 1/2 oz Tea-infused Genever
1/2 oz Lemoncello
1/4 oz Simple Syrup
2 barspoons Lemon Curd
Lemon Bitters

Spirit & Tasting Classes

Starting next month I will be hosting a series of classes on different spirits at the Bayou Oyster Bar. The first class is scheduled for Sunday, November 20th, at 5:30pm, and we will be focusing on Gin. We’ll be enjoying cocktails, learning about the history and different styles of gin, as well as having a tasting of several different gins. This class will be limited to 16 people, so if you are interested, or know anyone who is, reserve your spot now at the Bayou Oyster Bar, preferably between the hours of 5-7. It should be informative and a lot of fun, so I hope to see you there. Cheers!

MxMo LXII: Morning Drinks

It’s time for Mixology Monday once again, and this months topic, as chosen by Kevin at Cocktail Enthusiast, is Breakfast Drinks. His challenge is simple: create a cocktail for morning consumption, utilizing common breakfast ingredients, or being more creative and using infusions, bitters, etc. An interesting challenge considering that although the cocktail once dominated the early morning hours, it has definitely shifted to an evening beverage.

Now when I think of breakfast cocktails, my mind immediately jumps to the more obvious (The Bloody Mary or Mimosa), or the slightly less obvious (Ramos Gin Fizz or Corpse Reviver #2). However, there really isn’t the level of variety in morning drinks as there is for the traditional night cap.

So for this month, I have created my own twist on Salvatore Calabrese’s Breakfast Martini. I chose to utilize Bols Genever as my base spirit as I have been on a genever kick lately, and it is just a step outside the box from the more traditional gin or vodka morning drink. I infused the genever with Earl Grey tea, and combined it with Valencia orange juice, lemon juice, orange marmalade, egg white for texture, and orange bitters to balance it all out. Cheers!

The Morning Dutchman
2 oz Earl Grey infused Genever
1/2 oz Orange Juice
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1 teaspoon Marmalade
1 Egg White
2 Dashes Orange Bitters

Vintage Cocktails #73: Park Avenue Cocktail

Despite the name, this cocktail has more in common with a cool Florida night than it does with the streets of Manhattan. Ted Haigh expresses confused about the name of the drink as well.

Note, if you will, the tropical character, invoking Carmen Miranda strutting down a Palm Beach boulevard. As I say, the names of this and the Palm Beach Special preceding it, were obviously switched at birth.

This cocktail is light, fruity and complex, with pineapple being the dominant note in the aroma of the cocktail. On the taste, the gin and vermouth are at the forefront, with the pineapple and curacao rounding out the balance. I’m not sure what it was, but this cocktail did not suit my fancy in the least. I’m sure that some might think that it is fantastic, but I found the combination of ingredients absolutely horrific. I’ll have to give it at least one more chance, but maybe this one stayed forgotten for a reason.

Park Avenue Cocktail
2 oz Gin
3/4 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth
1/4 oz Orange Curacao

Vintage Cocktails #72: The Flying Dutchman

Unlike the flavored vodkas of our day, companies used to produce flavored gins of high quality. Still distinctly a gin, yet with a predominant flavor that paired well with a gins traditional botanicals. Sadly, this is a category that is for the most part obsolete, although there are a few holdouts. This next drink utilizes one of those flavored gins, and while it can be made with a plain Jane variety, it lacks that extra spark that the flavored gin brings to it. Bright and cheery, this drink originates from the Dutch bar book Internationale Cocktailgids (1950), penned by famed dutchman W. Slagter. Cheers!

The Flying Dutchman
2 oz Orange Gin
Juice of 1/4 Orange
Juice of 1/4 Lemon
3 dashes Angostura Bitters

Vintage Cocktails #71: Barnum Was Right

Back in the days of Harry Craddock and Jerry Thomas, a simple ingredient swap, or even a garnish change, often dictated a completely different name for a cocktail. In this case we have a base of gin, paired with lemon/lime juice and Angostura bitters. Add some maraschino and you have the Aviation; add some Cointreau and you have the Pegu Club; or in this instance, add some apricot brandy and you have the Barnum Was Right Cocktail.

This cocktail is fairly well balanced, although mostly unremarkable; the apricot flavors pairing decently with the gin, and the bitters keeping the whole drink from becoming overly cloying. Maybe Barnum, or more accurately George Hull, was right. There is a sucker born every minute.

Barnum Was Right
2 oz Gin
1 oz Apricot Brandy
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Vintage Cocktails #70: Lucien Gaudin Cocktail

Named after the 1920’s Olympic gold medal winning fencer, this cocktail is a true prohibition era libation.

Lucien Gaudin Cocktail
1 oz Gin
1/2 oz Cointreau
1/2 oz Campari
1/2 oz Dry Vermouth