Highlighting Flavors…

…in creations of the kitchen as well as the bar, is so often a question of paying close attention to ones’ ingredients. In the case of spirits, particularly well-crafted ones, this can alternately be quite straightforward or delicately-complicated; but it is always a joy, both in the compounding as well as the final result(s).

The goal of a well-made cocktail should, of course, always be a balance of its constituents; a poise achieved by manipulating the characteristics of the beverages’ ingredients according to their nature(s). Sometimes the desired outcome is as essential as highlighting flavors found within the ingredients. In other instances, a completely new flavor – one formed by the interaction of a drink’s various components – is aimed for.

The key to achieving either result is to know the ingredient(s) – particularly the really important stuff: how they taste and smell, with particular notice paid to the volume or intensity of such characteristics. In terms of such factors, what flavors stand out? What lurks subtly in the background? How assertive (or not) are they? Do these flavors, aromas, &c. draw to mind any other ingredients (whether experienced singly or in-tandem), alcoholic or not?

These remain questions one should always ask before beginning the delicate additions and subtractions of other ingredients which so often lead to quality recipes. On the topic of such questions, calculations and considerations of ingredients, some time ago a lovely bottle of Cachaça passed into my hands - an artisanal example of the spirit called Boca Loca.

A fairly-unique example of the distillate, Boca Loca's product seems to veer away from the flavor profile of most Cachaças. Within the category, even among the better examples, there seems a tendency towards bold and (sometimes agreeable) oily flavors of grassy sugarcane. In well-treated and carefully-distilled products, the complex, peppery ‘funkiness’ this can lend is often a pleasure, while in poorer (or “industrial”) distillates this character comes through as smoky and rough.

Not so with Boca Loca, however. This Cachaça is light in texture, with very little of the oily character mentioned above, while remaining redolent in both flavor and aroma. It does possess the grassiness one would expect, but this is offset by a number of more (and less) ethereal flavors. Heavier notes of Apricot or Peach are immediately obvious, while ghosts of white Pepper, Honey and berries come through in a more subtle, if pleasantly-so, manner.

So what to do with this rather intriguing spirit? To be sure, it makes a perfectly-acceptable Caipirinha, but the heaviness of the Lime and Sugar has a tendency to bury the base spirit. So why not try and play up (or off of) some of those interesting flavors found within by bringing in some complimentary ingredients? For the first of these, I (shamelessly) stole a page from the inestimable (and generally-speaking, equally shameless) Jeffrey Morgenthaler – whom Boca Loca apparently employs to compound drinks for them…

Earlier in the year, Jeff wrote of a small concoction – the Caneflower - he had come up with, using St. Germain liqueur and Aperol to play up certain elements in the Cachaça. It’s a really fantastic drink already; one where the floral sweetness of Elderflower plays delightfully against the delicate sugarcane grassiness of the base. But what about coaxing that grassy note, or the peppery-honey flavor that lingers on the Cachaça’s finish, to the foreground? For that we’ll turn to a different floral ingredient (and bitter modifier); re-jiggering Jeff’s formula to run in a different direction…

Honeysuckle syrup
1 Cup: Water
1 Cup: superfine Sugar
2½ Tblspns. dried Honeysuckle
2 Tblspns. Clover Honey
⅛ Tsp. fresh Lemon zest
If you’ve purchased dried Honeysuckle rather than collect it locally, pick out only the flowers, discarding any leaf or stem you may find. Combine ingredients in a non-reactive saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer over low-medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Simmer gently – do not boil – for two minutes before removing from heat. Cool to room temperature (~20 minutes), fine-strain by preferred method (cheesecloth, chinois, &c) and bottle.
Give it a try in the following cocktail; though make some extra, as it’s showing considerable promise with Rhum Agricole & certain Gins too (©):

Videira de Caña
1½ oz. Boca Loca Cachaça
¾ oz. RinQuinQuin
¾ oz. Honeysuckle syrup
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass and shake well. Strain up into a chilled cocktail glass; garnish with small twists of fresh Lemon & Tangerine.

Another idea stemmed from the aforementioned presence of various stonefruit(s) in the overall flavor profile of the spirit; one which proved well-worth highlighting through the use of the following ingredient:

Apricot-Tea syrup
1½ Cups: superfine Sugar
1 Cup: Water
1x Tazo Vanilla-Apricot teabag
1x slice: candied Ginger, julienned
1x dried Apricot, julienned
Combine prepared ingredients in a non-reactive saucepan & bring to a gentle simmer over low-medium heat, stirring to dissolve the Sugar. Simmer gently for one minute before removing from heat. Cool to room temperature (~20 minutes), fine-strain by preferred method (cheesecloth, chinois, &c) and bottle.
Try it out in the following twist (©) on the venerable Clover Club cocktail:

Capricious Club Cocktail
1½ oz. Boca Loca Cachaça
½ oz. dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
½ oz. Apricot-Tea syrup
½ oz. fresh Lemon juice
½ oz. fresh Egg white
Rinse ¼ oz. Apricot Brandy (a drier brand; Marie Brizard)
Combine ingredients and dry-shake to emulsify; add ice & shake well. Rinse a chilled coupe with the Apricot Brandy. Strain up into the prepared glass & garnish with a thin slice of dried Apricot.

I enjoyed the flavors which the stonefruit combination highlighted and wondered how the spirits’ characteristic would fair in a cleaner/simpler format. Quite well indeed if this variation on Tí Punch – a standby of (the similarly-grassy) Rhum Agricole - is any indication (©):

Loca Tí
1½ oz. Boca Loca Cachaça
½ oz Apricot-Tea syrup
1 d. Fee’s Peach bitters
1x dried Apricot, halved
1x small slice: Lemon peel
Combine prepared dry ingredients - Lemon peel should be cut from the side of the fruit and be no larger than a quarter - with syrup & bitters in a short glass (~6 oz) and muddle. Add Cachaça & fill with crushed ice. Swizzle briefly to chill and incorporate; top with crushed ice & savor.


Cheers & Enjoy!

***
In the interest of full disclosure, a sample of Boca Loca Cachaça was provided (some time ago) for my use.

Flirting with Flora: Bubbles, pt. I

If past articles here are any indication to you, good reader, I've got something of a fond place in my palette for exotic or unusual taste profiles. Not the least of these are floral or botanically-derived flavors; examples of which I am constantly seeking to incorporate into (or play off of already-existing elements in) my drinks. For inspiration (in all things, not just this particular flirtation), I often turn towards ideas hailing from culinary cultures outside of my own or from days long-forgotten. I reason that I couldn't possibly be the first half-clever (and that's a generous evaluation) git to realize that A plus B with a dash of C tastes great, and then acts upon this notion to mix it up...

Take my favorite floral ingredient – Hibiscus - for example. As I've discussed here in past articles, this lovely tropical flower (which apparently grows quite well in New Jersey, go figure) is often compounded into a tisane. The same beverage is made just about wherever Hibiscus grows - in the Middle East its called Karkade, North & West Africans refer to it as Bissap or Tsobo, while natives of Hawaii & the Caribbean islands know it as Red Sorrel. Sometimes the resulting infusions are spiced to add an additional character, sometimes not.

But note what our clever friends in Mexico have done with the traditional agua fresca: carbonate the already-refreshing brew into a soda. To be frank, all they've really done is integrate a floral ingredient into the ranks of the modern (sugar & soda-saturated) palette; to re-introduce to younger generations ingredients & flavors which their parents, grandparents (and earlier relations still) were wont to compound into something delicious with fair regularity.

In much the same vein, observe a centuries-old European floral ingredient which has only recently become widely-celebrated (again) for its considerable virtues: the Elderflower. Similarly, an uncommon (and uncommonly tasty) blossom hailing from the same regions: Meadowsweet - while still (occasionally) a botanical constituent in Gin, it was once also a component in tisane recipes of all stripes. And what of Honeysuckle - the delicately-sweet perfume of spring & summertime evenings? Finally, the bane of suburban gardeners and amateur winemakers alike: Dandelions, whose slight bitterness is often offset by coupling with yet another all-too common meadow weed: Burdock.

In some way, all of these edible flowers (and many others too) were well-regarded in the kitchens of days gone by. A primary reason for this is that, in certain proportions, all five of them play off of or highlight the other ingredients with which they are mixed in a multitude of fascinating ways. Such blending, to say nothing for these ingredients' already marvelous flavors on their own, allows for the creation of wholly-unique flavor profiles. Such is certainly the case with the following three homemade sodas (& the delicious libations made with them), so dust off your soda siphons and meet me in the middle...

Strawberry Fields soda
2¾ Cups: Water
1¾ Cups: fresh Strawberries, hulled
½ Cup: superfine white Sugar
¼ Cup: dried Meadowsweet flowers
¼ Cup: dried Honeysuckle flowers
2 oz. Elderflower cordial
Scant ⅛ Tsp. Pectic Enzyme (optional)
Clean, hull & halve the Strawberries. Place in an airtight container & toss with Pectic Enzyme, if using. Freeze for several hours.
Bring Water, Meadowsweet & Sugar to a light simmer over low-medium heat in a non-reactive saucepan. Simmer very gently (the volatile oils in these flowers are a bit delicate) for approximately two minutes until sugar is dissolved; add frozen Strawberries. Simmer very gently (again, do not boil) for five more minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, cool to room temperature & add Elderflower cordial. Fine-strain several times by preferred method (cheesecloth, chinois, &c.) to remove any particulate; pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible.
Pour into a soda siphon (should fill a standard iSi exactly). Carbonate, shake & chill according to your model's instructions, then give the following libation a try (©):

Morango Campo
1½ oz. Boca Loca Cachaça
½ oz. Yellow Chartreuse
½ oz. fresh Lemon juice
5-6 oz. Strawberry Fields soda
Build ingredients in an ice-filled Collins glass. Stir gently; garnish with a slice of fresh Strawberry & an edible flower.
---
If you happen to be out camping (as in the picture at left; by Ken Cleary) a pair of brandied Cherries will probably do just fine for garnish.

When creating new recipes, or even fiddling with established ones, there is a concept which chefs & sommeliers often espouse. Having seen it spawn more than a few delightful combinations, I also tend to agree with said notion, wherein "things that grow together, are often best served together". Examining this thought a bit more broadly, flavors (or combinations thereof) which are popular in a given locale often blend beautifully with other ones enjoyed in the same general area.

Again, take the delightful agua fresca known as Jamaica; a refreshingly-tart, floral beverage well-suited to the climate of Mexico. Even better for our purposes (and in line with the aforementioned theory), it blends wonderfully with Tequila. Particularly a smooth, grassy - almost sweet - example of the category like Tequila Ocho's 2008 Plata. Better still, certain of this artisanal spirits' component spice notes - a pleasant blend of Cinnamon & Citrus-y flavors - are themselves a common addition to a glass of Jamaica; like so:

Jamaica soda
3½ Cups: Water
¾ Cup: dried Hibiscus flowers
¼ Cup: raw Sugar
2 oz. light Agave nectar
1½ oz. Cinnamon syrup
¾ Tsp. Citric Acid
¾ Tsp. fresh Lime zest
Bring the Water & dried Hibiscus to a boil in a non-reactive saucepan before stirring in the Sugar & Citric Acid. Reduce heat & simmer for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, stir in Syrups & Zest, cover & cool to room temperature (~3 hours). Fine-strain by preferred method (cheesecloth, chinois, &c), pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible.
Pour into a soda siphon (should fill a standard iSi exactly). Carbonate, shake & chill according to your model's instructions, then give the following libation a try (©):

Paloma de Flor
1¾ oz. Tequila Ocho Plata (2008)
¼ oz. fresh Lime juice
5-6 oz. Jamaica soda
Build ingredients in an ice-filled Collins glass. Stir gently; garnish with a twist of fresh Lime & an edible flower.
---
As an optional touch, two sprays via an atomizer of good-quality Mescal into the glass prior to building lends a further agave complexity.

For our final homemade soda we turn to the aforementioned bane of many an amateur winemaker (I’ve never seen an old home vintning guide that didn’t include one such recipe): Dandelions.

The moderate vegetal bitterness (think Mesclun) that the green portions (which won't be used below) of this ubiquitous weed impart is offset considerably by its roots and flowers, which provide a vaguely-honeyed sweetness. Furthermore, the addition of another common aromatic wildflower, the dull purple Burdock, rounds out the bitterness with a complex (almost like a fruity take on star Anise) herbal flavor. This combination has been a popular flavor in British sodas for many years, and quite rightfully so. When blended with a bit of rich sugar and offset by a touch of citric acidity, the resulting ‘fizz is delightful - particularly with a measure of flavorful Gin tossed in. But don’t just take my word for it:

Dandified soda
3¼ Cups: Water
1 packed Cup: dried Dandelion (½ root, ½ flowers), cleaned
½ Cup: dried Burdock (½ root, ½ flowers), cleaned
½ Cup: light brown Sugar
2 Tblspns. white Sugar
2 Tblspns. golden Raisins
1½ Tblspns. fresh Ginger, minced
2 Tsp. Cream of Tartar
¾ oz. fresh Lemon juice, finely-strained
Peel of 1 Lemon, pith removed & julienned
Bring the flowers, roots, Raisins, Ginger & Lemon peel to a boil over medium-high heat in a non-reactive saucepan. Slowly stir in the Sugars & continue to simmer for about fifteen minutes. Remove from heat & cool slightly (10 minutes or so). Strain once by preferred method (cheesecloth, chinois, &c.), pressing gently on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Stir in the Lemon juice and Tartar, then set aside & cool to room temperature. Strain again if necessary.
Pour into a soda siphon (should fill a standard iSi exactly). Carbonate, shake & chill according to your model's instructions, then give the following libation a try (©):

Posh Dandy Cooler
1½ oz. Hendrick’s Gin
¼ oz. blended Scotch (Yamazaki 12yr)
¼ oz. Honey syrup
1d Fee’s Cherry bitters
1d Peychaud's bitters
5-6 oz. Dandified soda
Build ingredients in an ice-filled Collins glass. Roll once to mix; garnish with a Lemon twist & brandied Cherry.


Something Completely Different
As I indicated in my last post, the past month or so has been full of experiments and the fine-tuning of a great many new recipes, ideas, etc. One group of these, inspired by conversations at ‘Tales and carried out primarily at my portable bar, has involved the use of a soda siphon. Good thing you dusted it off, no?

The conversations in question pertained to carbonation, both in long drinks as well as some speculation about a new gadget which is appearing in certain circles – the Perlage/PERLINI system. Seems some clever folks cobbled together a device which (in addition to preserving Champagne) is capable of efficiently-carbonating spirits; causing, as Robert Hess put it, “[Tequila] to drink just like Champagne.”

An interesting if very scary proposition, I think. As for the long drinks, certain aspects of the (hazy – this was ‘Tales after all) discussions in question centered around the problem of incorporating a carbonated mixer into the remaining non-carbonated ingredients, say a Tom Collins, without losing an undue amount of the ‘bubbly…

Stirring gently, rolling, allowing the roiling carbonation to blend everything (as in a French 75). Even the old Fizz-maker’s trick of adding a spoonful of sugar at the last moment; all of these work reasonably well. But I couldn’t help but feel that sometimes a given drink would benefit from having its ingredient combined and well-incorporated, then carbonated together; especially when a homemade soda (in particular those made with heavier syrups) gets involved. The presence of an additional siphon (lent by a friend; in which I could keep Seltzer while carrying out my trials) at the bar only helped to facilitate these experiments.

In short – it works brilliantly. Every single sip positively pops with the fat, roiling bubbles a good siphon creates. The components blend seamlessly with no separation of flavor and the introduction of carbonation into ordinarily-still ingredients such as juices and spirits makes for a delightfully-smooth, fascinating textural component that I daresay even improves upon old standbys.

After compounding five beverages - Singapore Sling, (Morgenthaler's) Dark & Stormy and the three already listed above in this fashion, the results were positively fantastic. The Singapore Sling in particular – a drink which I make with more than passing regularity – was one of the best I think I’ve ever had.

As for how this is done – in short, very simply – merely total up the volume of your recipe, determine how many ounces your siphon will hold and do the math. The only point on which one should be cautious is in fine-straining your mixture, particularly if citrus or other juices are included, as you wouldn’t want to clog your siphon up with particulate. For instance, the drinks I’ve already discussed thus far are prepared in my siphon (which comfortably holds about 32 oz.) like so:

Morango Campo (via Siphon)
6 oz. Boca Loca Cachaça
2 oz. Yellow Chartreuse
2 oz. fresh Lemon juice, fine-strained
22 oz. Strawberry Fields soda
Combine ingredients in a pitcher and stir well to incorporate (or just combine in the siphon & shake well). Pour into siphon, carbonate according to manufacturer’s instructions & chill. Serve & garnish as above.

Paloma de Flor (via Siphon)
7 oz. Tequila Ocho Plata (2008)
1 oz. fresh Lime juice, fine-strained
23 oz. Jamaica soda
Combine ingredients in a pitcher and stir well to incorporate (or just combine in the siphon & shake well). Pour into siphon, carbonate according to manufacturer’s instructions & chill. Serve & garnish as above.

Posh Dandy Cooler (via Siphon)
6 oz. Hendrick’s Gin
1 oz. blended Scotch (Yamazaki 12yr)
1 oz. Honey syrup
4d Fee’s Cherry bitters
4d Peychaud's bitters
23 oz. Dandified soda
Combine ingredients in a pitcher and stir well to incorporate (or just combine in the siphon & shake it well). Pour into siphon, carbonate according to manufacturer’s instructions & chill. Serve & garnish as above.


Cheers & Enjoy!

***
In the spirit of full disclosure, samples of both Boca Loca Cachaça and Tequila Ocho Plata (2008 bottling) were generously provided for my use. And bloody fine acquisitions both of them were...

Over the Border to Find a Fix...

...and through a bramble patch along the way.

First off, no, not that kind of fix, but rather a curious classic libation closely intertwined with the venerable Sour family of drinks. Second, with regards to the border - ¿qué pasa con eso? Well, it's springtime folks, and this transitional season always brings me around to the various styles of Tequila at one point or another. As for the bramble patch...ráipido wey, and we'll get to that too.

The Fix
or "Fix-Up" (I'm really not doing anything for the name here, am I?) appeared first on a cocktail list for Mart Ackermann's Saloon in Toronto, Canada. According to Dave Wondrich in Imbibe!, this was in 1856 (you didn't really think my bar "library" included a cocktail list from then, did you?) and there were eight of them on the hand-dated document.

Certainly an old drink then and, according to sources I do possess, quite the enduring one, considering its' formula (or a derivative thereof) was considered vital knowledge well past the turn of the century. The reasoning for this is simple - a Fix, as prepared with a number of spirits, was nothing more than a Sour dressed-up fancy with "fruits in season" - Berries, Pineapple, Orange and Lemon are often recommended. It appears thusly in the 1862 edition of Jerry Thomas's How to Mix Drinks and is seen in service under the same formula in Leo Engel's American and Other Drinks as late as 1878. Yet, sometime around the early 1880's the recipes begin to change - first individually, then as a unified category.

The Gin Fix is the first of these - first getting a dose of Pineapple syrup added to it in Harry Johnson's 1882 Bartender's Manual, where it is the only one recorded. But come 1884 we observe O.H. Byron has instituted a more categorical change in the drink - utilizing Pineapple syrup for all five of the Fixes listed in his Modern Bartender's Guide. By the time we reach 1887, and with it Jerry Thomas' posthumously-edited edition, we find several variations - each dependant on the spirit used in the four given Fixes. One called for Raspberry syrup, two included a little Curaçao and the Whiskey variety remained untouched. These alterations look to have been cemented by the turn of the century - we still see them in 1895 & 1900 (as well as later on) in editions of George Kappeler's Modern American Drinks. But why the sudden additions, changes & revisions to the recipe? Do we detect a touch of the same crazy variance that dogged the (equally old) formula for Roman Punch?

Not quite, I think. As previously-mentioned, the Fix is just a Sour built on crushed ice with a suitably-fancy garnish; quite tasty, but a little plain - particularly when the standard Sour category was also available for order. But tweak the formula by adding a flavored syrup, particularly ones flavored with the very ingredients often used to garnish the beverage, and you have a delightful drink. That the popularization of such syrups (which solved the problems of obtaining fairly-exotic fruits like Pineapple rather-handily) coincidentally (or not) occured around the same time as the changes to the recipe began appearing is an equally-strong argument for the changes made to the old formula. With the history of the Fix (& its' derivatives) established, what's up with this border..? Well, I happen to feel that one of the esencial liquores para la primavera is a bit of...

Tequila
in this case a Plata variety called Inocente. Produced on the other side of the much-mentioned border from a kiln-roasted aguamiel, or the fermentable juices from 100% Blue Agave. This ferment, or pulque, is distilled three times before being subjected to a wine-making method called micro-oxygenation, which is meant to soften the final products' character in a similar way to the chemical processes which take place during barrel-aging.

The producers may have a good idea there (at least for a spirit which is meant to be unaged, as opposed to a Reposado or Añejo), for while Inocente - like many Plata Tequilas, is a thin white spirit with some heat to it (meant more for mixing than drinking straight), the aggressive character of the distilled agave is subdued to a very pleasant spice & pepper flavor, with soft floral or vegetal notes lingering in the background.

Now, while the Fix-Up was typically compounded with any of the available spirits of the day, one would be hard-pressed to order one made with a little-known (at the time) spirit like Tequila. However, the combination of Pineapple and Tequila is an excellent one & was among the first of such flavor pairings to spring to mind when I first tasted Inocente. Reasoning that the peppery notes of the spirit would balance very nicely against the rich sweeteness of la piña, I gave it a try in conjunction with Gomme (or Gum) syrup, which added a very pleasant texture to the drink:

Tequila Fix
2 oz. Tequila (Inocente)
¾ oz. fresh Lime juice
½ oz. Pineapple Gomme syrup
1 Tsp. Raw sugar
½ oz. Seltzer
Combine Sugar & Seltzer in an Old-Fashioned glass and stir to dissolve. Fill the glass with crushed ice & build remaining ingredients. Stir gently to mix, top with a little more crushed ice & garnish with fresh fruit in-season (whole Berries & slices of Lime or Pineapple are muy deseable).

Pineapple Gomme syrup
1 Cup: white Sugar
½ Cup: Water
Gomme Solution
1 Cup: fresh Pineapple, cubed
Prepare the Gomme solution by dissolving 2 oz. Gum Arabic crystals in 2 oz. of boiling Water - be prepared to stir for a long while. In a small saucepan prepare Simple syrup by dissolving the Sugar in the Water over medium heat. Once the mixture reaches a gentle boil, add the viscous Gomme Solution, stirring well to incorporate it. Allow to boil for a few minutes, skimming off any foam or scum that rises to the surface & remove from heat. When cool, pour over Pineapple in an airtight container & allow to steep in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Strain by preferred method & bottle.

But what has become of the Fix in modern times? We still have the Sour of course (though that too has been subjected to all manner of undesirable change), so what of its' well-dressed cousin? The Fix, sadly, never really made it through the years leading up to Prohibition - it appears here and there, particularly in books printed overseas - but try ordering any of the varieties now. However, it would seem that the notion of a flavored Sour (i.e. what the Fix became) lives on in the form of:

The Bramble
is a more modern reworking of certain incarnations of the (long defunct) Gin Fix - the 1887+ ones what call for a touch of Raspberry syrup. It was adapted in the mid-1980's by UK barman Dick Bradsell, who, in such dimly-lit (for the cocktail) times undoubtedly had no easy access to a Raspberry syrup behind his bar. His solution? A float of Crème de Mûre (hence the "bramble" - a nickname for Rasp/Blackberry bushes) atop a lightly-sweetened Gin Sour. In the years following its' creation, in true Fix tradition, other bartenders swapped out the Gin and/or liqueur & substituted in all kinds of other spirits. While the Gin version is quite lovely, especially in the coming months, today we're on Tequila; so it's to the following drink that we call our attention:

Tequila Bramble
1½ oz. Tequila (Inocente)
¾ oz. fresh Lime juice
½ oz. Simple syrup
¾ oz. Crème de Cassis
Build the first three ingredients in an Old-Fashioned glass mostly-filled with crushed ice. Stir, top with fresh crushed ice & float the Crème de Cassis on the top. Garnish with a slice of Lime & several fresh Blackberries.

The combination of Cassis and Tequila is yet another strong (& historically-sound) pairing - the heavy, complex sweetness of the liqueur plays nicely in this instance against the thin, spicy heat of the Tequila and the Lime's bitter/sourness rounds the whole thing out. However, as with many other examples of Tequila, Inocente has a subtle floral or vegetal character, which in this instance the liqueur seems to drown out completely. To better highlight those notes while keeping the balance of the drink intact, I turned to another beverage that's common across the border (& in my refrigerator) - the aguas fresca called Jamaica (©):

Flowering Bramble
1½ oz. Tequila (Inocente)
¼ oz. fresh Lime juice
½ oz. Simple syrup
½ oz. Jamaica
¼ oz. Crème de Cassis
Build the first three ingredients in an Old-Fashioned glass mostly-filled with crushed ice and stir briefly. In a seperate measuring glass, combine the Jamaica & Crème de Cassis. Top the built drink with fresh crushed ice & float the Jamaica-Cassis mixture on top. Garnish with a slice of Lime & several fresh Blackberries.


Cheers & Enjoy!

*In the interest of full disclosure, samples of Inocente were generously provided for use. Great quantities of said sample have been consumed since...

What are you doing New Years, pt. II

Now, in my previous post you might recall I inquired as to the New Years festivities with which many of you were doubtlessly engaged. I also made reference to my own plans, which in my humble opinion, went over smashingly well. To sum up, I spent the past five days 'down the (New Jersey) shore, in the company of some dear friends, mixing up cocktails and concoctions of all kinds for one & all...

Sumptuous food was served by talented cooks, warm & wonderful conversation was had between friends both old & new; and the drinks were more than plentiful. Cocktails, Fizzes, Juleps, Sours, Daisies, Coolers, Toddies, Blue Blazers, Tiki drinks, a trio of Punches; even a Pousse-Cafe or two. But don't take my word for it; thanks to an almost papparazzi-like spat of photography by many talented friends, you may press on & see for yourself 'o gentle reader...

Fun with Fire

"The Blue Blazer does not have a very euphonious or classic name, but it tastes better to the palate than it sounds to the ear. A beholder gazing for the first time upon an experienced artist compounding this beverage, would naturally come to the conclusion that it was a nectar for Pluto rather than Bacchus..." - Harry Craddock, 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book

As I (and others) have said in the past, the Blue Blazer is quite the production - essentially a Scotch Toddy with the addition of an impressive spot of presentation. Yet at it's core that's all the libation really is; while it tastes just fine, the drink is about as good as the sum of it's parts, gaining distinction only from it's preparation & heavenly aroma. The use of flame in cooking (& elsewhere) can take known flavors in new directions - the caramelization of sugars can do some impressive things after all - such as in concoctions at the Pegu Club's recent Blazer Mix-off. I aimed to incorporate a similar effect in the toasty apple & spicey caramel flavors of this riff on Jerry Thomas' immortal Blue Blazer (©):

Burning Down the Orchard
5¼ oz. Laird's 100° Bonded Apple Brandy

¾ oz. Lemon Hart 151° Demerara Rum

2½ oz. Apple Cider, warmed

2½ oz. boiling Water
――

In each of five pre-warmed mugs:

1 oz. Apple Cider, warmed

1 Tsp. Agave Nectar

1 pinch: Cinnamon, freshly-ground

1 pinch: Nutmeg, freshly-ground

――

Prepare with all due caution & care as a normal Blue Blazer, passing the flaming mixture approximately 8-9 times between the mugs.

On the theme of caramelization as a flavor modifier, I set about preparing a slight variation on Jamie Boudreau's (already-wonderful) Rosewater Rickey...

This beverage is compounded by bruleeing cherries with sugar in the mixing glass. In this instance using my own brandied Sour Cherries (in a Cherry-Tamarind syrup) and a mixture of superfine cane Sugar with ground white Cardamom & Iranian Saffron. For the curious, this is made by combining approximately ½ Cup cane Sugar, ¾ Tablespoon ground white Cardamom and ~13 threads of Saffron in a small food processor until all is incorporated and finely-ground. For the brulee flame: a Misto sprayer filled with a 2:1:1 mixture of Lemon Hart 151°, Angostura & Honey Tangerine bitters...

Eastern Rosewater Rickey

3 oz. Gin (Martin Miller's)

1 barspoon: Rosewater

¼ oz. fresh Lime juice

¼ oz. fresh Tangerine juice

――

Brulee in a mixing glass:

6 Brandied Sour Cherries w/ Tamarind

1 rounded barspoon: Cardamom-Saffron superfine Sugar (as above)

Bitters mist (as above)

――
Carefully brulee Cherries until superfine sugar caramelizes. Fill with ice and add remaining ingredients. Shake well & strain into a Collins glass filled with ice. Top with soda water & garnish with brandied sour Cherries. Brilliant technique & drink Mr. Boudreau!

Curious Classics

As I compounded all manner of beverages, a great many questions were asked about them and the history & craft of the cocktail in general. I was only too happy to oblige the curiosity, passing around copies of works like David Wondrich's Imbibe!, Gary Regan's The Joy of Mixology and Ted Haigh's (now rarified) Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails for perusal. Likewise, when a drink was made which had some particularly interesting snippet of history behind it, I was quick to regale (read: try not to bore) my friends with a little story about each.

Take for example, the class of drinks known as Corpse Revivers and "Eye-Openers", or the creation of the Japanese cocktail (very possibly my favorite cocktail) for visiting dignitaries in 1860 by Jerry Thomas. The innovation of the Florodora (a real crowd pleaser, by-the-by) for a stubborn chorus girl in 1901; even the Negroni's rise from the Americano (at left & below) came up at one point or another during the week:

Corpse Reviver #2

1 oz. Gin (Plymouth)

1 oz. Lillet Blanc

1 oz. Cointreau

1 oz. fresh Lemon juice

1 drop: Absinthe (La Fee)

Combine ingredients (save Absinthe) in a mixing glass with plenty of ice and shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, add drop of Absinthe (or a quality Pastis) & garnish with a stemless Cherry. Try (& fail) to keep your friends from drinking it before photographing.

Japanese Cocktail

2 oz. VSOP Brandy or VS Cognac

½ oz. Orgeat syrup

¼ oz. fresh Lime juice

4 dashes: homemade Boker's bitters (or substitute 2 dashes of Angostura bitters)

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with plenty of cracked ice & shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a twist of fresh Lime.

Florodora

1½ oz. Gin (Plymouth or Boodles)

Juice of 1 fresh Lime

2 Teaspoons: Raspberry (or Blackberry) syrup

Ginger Ale (preferably homemade)

Combine ingredients (save Ginger Ale) in a mixing glass with plenty of ice & shake [typically this built & stirred; my 'berry syrup is quite thick so I tend to shake]. Strain into a highball glass filled with ice and fill with Ginger Ale. Garnish with a cherry & a slice of fresh Orange.

Americano

1½ oz. Sweet Vermouth (Carpano Antica Formula)

1½ oz. Campari

Soda Water

Build ingredients in a lowball glass filled with ice. Fill with soda and stir. Garnish with a long twist of fresh Orange or Lemon.

Experiments, Innovations & Smashing Samples

As I'd stated previously, I had been hard at work preparing all kinds of ingredients - syrups, bitters, mixers of all sorts - to go alongside the prodigious quantity of booze I had procured & collected throughout the year. Now certain of the syrups (& drinks they create) I've mentioned here before in various articles, but among both the spirits & syrups are a number of recent additions which made for some fantastic drinks. As part of my association with the Mixoloseum, I have - as several posts here should indicate - been recieving samples of various spirits for experimentation, a feat which I rather gleefully carried out at every opportunity this week...

Yamazaki Whisky & Cocktails

One of many cocktails calling for Orgeat syrup, the delightful Cameron's Kick is something of a unique item, seeing as it utilizes both Scotch & Irish Whisk(e)y's as its' base spirits. The Yamazaki 12-year, produced by the Suntory company of Japan, is similarly unique - a "Scotch" not from Scotland, but nonetheless quite delightful for use in cocktails. It makes a killer Blood & Sand (as pictured at left) likely due to the smooth hints of dried fruit (Cherries?) in its flavor, so I thought to try it out in a Pistachio & Rose-accented variation on the venerable Cameron's Kick. After the first, I had to make them three at a time, so it would seem the combination worked rather well (©):

Kikku no Cameron

2½ oz. Yamazaki 12 year Whisky

½ oz. Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey

¾ oz. Pistachio Orgeat syrup (see below)

¾ oz. fresh Lemon juice

Combine ingredients in a mixing glass with plenty of ice and shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a twist of fresh Orange.

Pistachio Orgeat
6¼ Cups: Pistachios, peeled
3¾ Cups: Water
3 Cups: white Sugar
1½ Tablespoons: Rosewater
½ Tablespoons: Orange flower Water
Prepare as a normal Orgeat syrup then cool, bottle & add 2½ oz. Brandy. Makes just under 1½ Liters of syrup.

Kilo Kai Rum & Cocktails

I've always been rather so-so about supposed 'spiced' rums - they always fall short of the mark for me in just about everything but a Rum & Coke. Even worse, many examples often have a cloyingly-artificial flavor about them. Not so with Kilo Kai, a relatively new, lightly-aged spiced rum (sadly, not yet distributed in the NJ-area) produced in Curaçao. Posessing a great spice character - redolent of Vanilla and Cinnamon, my first thought was of some of the Tiki spice combinations popularized by Donn the Beachcomber - blending Cinnamon and Grapefruit for example. Several of these combinations worked so well, I ran dry on the stuff. While I'll have to wait for a few months until it becomes available, for those of you who can get it, give either of these libations a try (©):

Donn's Red Velvet

1¼ oz. Kilo Kai spice Rum

1¼ oz. Jamaica

¼ oz. fresh Pink Grapefruit juice

2 Teaspoons: Cinnamon syrup

1 dash: Peychaud's bitters

1 dash: Fee's Whiskey Barrel-Aged bitters

Combine ingredients in a mixing glass with plenty of ice & shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a twist of fresh Grapefruit.

The Tropica Spice

1¾ oz. Kilo Kai Spiced Rum

¼ oz. JW&N Overproof Rum

½ oz. fresh Orange juice
¼ oz. fresh Pink Grapefruit juice

1 barspoon: Cardamom-Saffron Sugar

1¼ oz. Grapefruit soda (Jarritos)

Prepare a 6-7 oz. glass by rimming it with Cardamom Saffron sugar and filling it halfway with cracked ice. Build ingredients in prepared glass, top with grapefruit soda & stir briefly.

Other (sadly undocumented) experiments included a pair of Volcano Bowls utilizing a 3:1 Jaggery (Indian plam sugar) syrup in place of the usual Maple syrup - the creation of at least one of which was broadcast to a friend-of-a-friend in Brazil via webcam. The finger-lighting trick works quite well by-the-by. A bottle of BarSol's wonderful Quebranta Pisco arrived on my doorstep on the day before my departure, and as I had just finished making a batch of Gomme syrup, I set up a Pineapple for a lovely punchbowl full of Pisco Punch. A number of succesful experiments took place involving a Thai Bird's Eye chili & Tamarind syrup paired with Gin, Cherry Heering & Blood Orange as well as number of other innovations which might have been lost (or at least un-photographed) in the weeds of serving forty-odd folks drinks for five days.

Nevertheless, some wonderous photos were taken (thanks to all who took care of that), a positively-brilliant time was had every day, night & early morning and many happy memories were made. Cheers and thanks to all who attended, and I look forward to doing it all again next year...


Cheers & may everyone's new year be better than that which came before it! Except for those lousy Carolingians...

Libations to Love...Live and in Color!

On November 20th, Thursday Drink Night at the Mixoloseum took on an air of near-respectability with the generous sponsorship of Leblon Cachaça. Company founder & President Steve Luttmann, alongside founding Partner and COO Gerry Schweitzer joined in the discssions, answering all manner of questions about the spirit they produce.

Naturally, the theme of the night was this lovely artisanal example of Brazil's native spirit; and a record-setting thirty-one cocktails were originated throughout the evening utilizing it - some of them on-location by our team at Trader Vic's in Las Vegas.

Cachaça is a great spirit - the third most-produced liquor in the world - and is similar in production to Rum, while containing a number of the grassy, vegetal flavor characteristics that many people associate with Tequila. Leblon is the end product of a ferment of pressed sugarcane juice, which is then distilled in copper alembique stills, rather than the column stills utilized by other 'industrial' cachaças. The head and tail of the distillate is discarded, and the young spirit is rested for several months in used XO Cognac casks to soften & enrich its flavors before being blended by master distiller Gilles Merlet & filtered for bottling.

The resulting artisanal spirit weighs in at 40% ABV and has a wonderful, almost floral, aroma of grassy sugarcane coupled with a fairly soft mouthfeel & a mild, if flavorful, taste. These characteristics make it an excellent introductory spirit into the world of Cachaças and makes for a fantastic Caipirinha - the national drink of Brazil. Give it whirl in one of the many drinks originated at TDN, or in one of these delightful libations (©):

Missionary's Demise
1¼ oz. Leblon Cachaça
¾ oz. Blackstrap Rum (Cruzan)
½ oz. Orange Curaçao (Marie Brizard)
¾ oz. fresh Orange juice
¼ oz. fresh Lime juice
½ oz. Orgeat syrup
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass & shake well with plenty of cracked ice. Strain into a double Old-Fashioned glass half-filled with cracked ice & garnish with a sprig of fresh Spearmint.

Clementine Caipirinha
2 oz. Leblon Cachaça
1 whole fresh Clementine
1 wedge (⅙): fresh Lime
1½ Teaspoons: Demerara sugar
Remove the ends from the Clementine & slice into quarters, being sure to remove any of the white pith in the center of the segments. In a mixing glass, muddle the Lime & Clementine wedges with the sugar. Add Cachaça with plenty of cracked ice & shake well. Pour unstrained into a double Old-Fashioned glass, top with fresh cracked ice & serve with a wide straw.

Cheers & Enjoy!
*In the interest of full disclosure, samples of Leblon were provided for this TDN event*

MxMo XXXIII: Made From Scratch, pt. I

This month's Mixology Monday, which I've missed the deadline for by about two weeks now, was being generously hosted by Doug over at the Pegu Blog - sorry Doug! Much like all past & future MxMo's this one followed a most interesting format. His (awesome!) chosen theme, as passed down to we mere mortals from on high?

"Bring forth unto us a beverage! Thy beverage shall depend upon one
or more ingredients that thou makest yourself. Beyond that decree, you may
voyage to the edge of the Earth or beyond."

Well, as anyone who has ever even glanced sideways at this blog will attest, I've never made anything from scratch to use in a cocktail. Nope - no bitters, infusions, syrups or oddball/hard-to-find ingredients here...

That I said that with a straight face is suprising to me & should sound dubious to you 'o gentle reader, as homemade ingredients are something of an obvious passion of mine. But what to highlight, something garnered from the edge of the Earth or beyond, as Doug said? A topic which I've been experimenting with for some time (but have inexplicably yet to post on, on-time or otherwise) which, once made, can bring flavors from the ends of the world right to your glass: Tinctures.

Tinctures

are quite simple concoctions really, consisting of nothing more than an ingredient - generally an herb, root or spice - whose flavor has been extracted by means of a solvent - ethanol in this instance. Chances are, no matter how humble your spice cabinet may (or may not) be, you've got a tincture or three in there right now; got pure Vanilla extract?

The reason for an ethanol base is simple: high-proof alcohol extracts the essential oils - the aromatic compounds which provide scent & through this medium, flavor - quite efficiently. Most tinctures fall into the 35-80% ABV range for this very reason, though even the weakest of them (that Vanilla extract of yours likely comes in at 35% for example) typically start in a neutral base which is around 80-95% ABV before being diluted somewhat. It is in this matter, incidentally, that I've never been more pleased about college students fulfilling their odd requirements for drinking. Simply put, due to the demand such persons have for high-proof Neutral Grain Spirits (read: Everclear), such items continue to be produced & sold in most parts of the country. But it was not always this way - once upon a time NGS's filled an important role, not by being drunk with Kool-aide, but rather in the production of colorants, bitters, infusions & tinctures.

In Jerry Thomas' How to Mix Drinks, as well as Christian Schltz's accompanying Manual For the Manufacture of Cordials, Liquors, Fancy Syrups &c., &c. a sizeable number recipes for producing colorants oils, extracts and tinctures are included as well as referenced. Take this one for example:

Tincture of Cinnamon

Place 2 pounds of ground Cinnamon into a jar with 1 gallon 95 per cent alcohol, closely covered. At the end of 8 days strain the liquor clear; wash the sediment with 1 quart proof spirits [read: 80°]; strain it; mix the two liquors together, and filter through blotting paper.

All well & good if you have use for a 1¼ Gallons of tincture! Generally speaking, tinctures last a long time, since a little goes such a long way (much like bitters) scaling recipes such as this one down tend to be a good plan, like so:

Tincture of Cinnamon

2 oz. whole Cinnamon sticks

8 oz. Neutral Grain Spirit (Everclear)

Combine ingredients in an airtight container for about three weeks, agitating every day. When ready, fine-strain to remove all solids & bottle. Give this a whirl in Jeff Morgenthaler's Autumn Leaves.

Now, as most of us don't manufacture imitation spirits & colorants as our friend Mr. Schultz did, we get to the subject of using tinctures today. Certainly, tinctures are optimal for adding tiny dashes of flavor to given recipes - particularly when adding such a flavor in the form of its originating spice would be impractical. Furthermore, while spices are far more available in modern days than they were in antiquity, the problem of their (sometimes rapid) degredation is still a valid one. Those same oils & aromatic compounds which give spices their characteristic favors, tend to be greatly reduced with time - especially once whole spices been dried & ground. In this way, tinctures act as a preservative - allowing one to capture the flavor & aroma of a fresh spice while concentrating it for use much farther down the line than a quantity of that spice would ordinarily allow. Likewise, since it will grow no stronger or weaker with age, tinctures are quite stable in their intensity - a feature which some, like Jamie Boudreau of Spirits & Cocktails, advocate using to prepare bitters with consistency.

Another fantastic use, which many 'seat of the pants' sessions of TDN have taught me, is constructing flavored syrups on-the-fly. Despite my penchant for making all sorts of flavored syrups, this peculiar affliction also graces my colleagues in the Mixoloseum, so on any given evening there will be recipes calling for syrups infused with Coffee, Cinnamon, Allspice, Nutmeg, black Pepper or any number of other items. Yet by taking a small quantity of ordinary simple syrup, one can add a given tincture to produce the flavor(s) required in mere seconds, like so:

Cinnamon Syrup

4 oz. Simple syrup (2:1)

2-3 drops Cinnamon Tincture

Combine ingredients & shake well to mix. Use as a normal Cinnamon syrup, like in Rick of Kaiser Penguin's Jet Pilot.

Now that you've got some uses lined up for these versatile extracts, how do you go about crafting your own? Tinctures are fairly forgiving in their construction, but here are a few hard & fast rules for making them on your own:

1. Barring a few of the stronger spices, tinctures are generally prepared in a 5 or 4:1 ratio of Spirit:Spice.
2. Tinctures take a while to make, generally-speaking about two weeks of maceration, though certain spices & herbs require more time, even in high-test spirit. Color is a good indicator - when the color of the liquid has deepened to match that of the herbs & grows no darker in hue, you're likely good to go.
3. Scent is also a good indicator - when you can detect no alcohol fumes overpowering the aroma of whatever you've infused, the tincture is more or less ready. Taste can be used here too, but be sure to only sample the tiniest of tiny amounts to avoid blowing a fuse in your taste buds. Bitter or spicy tinctures are recommended against sampling undiluted.
4. If you'd like your tinctures at a milder final proof, feel free to dilute them with water. However, to avoid diluting the flavor, you'll want to allow said water to infuse in the washed spices for about a week before you strain & add it to your original alcohol base.

To get started, here are handful of tinctures which are much-valued in my kitchen & bar (for a full list of the tinctures I've currently got on hand, check out the "Behind the Bar: Tinctures & Bitters" sidebar on the right):

Tincture of Iranian Saffron
4 oz. Neutral Grain Spirits
1 Teaspoon: Iranian Saffron threads
Combine ingredients in an airtight container for eighteen days, agitating gently each day. Should be a delicate, clear reddish-pink in color. When ready, fine-strain to remove all solids & bottle. Give 1 drop of this a try in a Pisco Sour, or two drops in a Silver Fizz.

Tincture of Black Cardamom
2 oz. Black Cardamom, seeds only
8 oz. Neutral Grain Spirits
Combine ingredients in an airtight container for three weeks, agitating gently each day. Should be a slightly opaque, smoke-hued color. When ready, fine-strain to remove all solids & bottle. Give 2 drops of this a try in a Sidecar or Tom Collins.

Tincture of Wormwood
2 oz. Wormwood
8 oz. Neutral Grain Spirits
Combine ingredients in an airtight container for three weeks, agitating gently each day. Should be an opaque, deep dark green in color. When ready, fine-strain to remove all solids & bottle. Give this a try in Darcy O'Neil's researched reproduction of the infamous Green Swizzle or the handful of other antique recipes what call for "Wormwood bitters".

Tincture of Scotch Bonnet
7 oz. Neutral Grain Spirits
2 whole Scotch Bonnet peppers, seeds only
1 Tablespoon: Scotch Bonnet pepper, julienned
Please be extremely cautious when working with these peppers, wearing gloves & being careful to avoid contact with your eyes or mouth. Combine ingredients in an airtight container for sixteen days, agitating gently each day. Should be clear with a very slight, almost ominous, oily orange tint. When ready, fine-strain to remove all solids & bottle. Give this a (careful) try as the spicy element in a wicked Bloody Mary - sub 2 drops in for your favorite hot sauce.

Cheers, enjoy & sorry again Doug!

Going Out All Dolled Up...

Before I get into this weeks' cocktailian post, I want to take a moment to get all sentimental on you. As I briefly mentioned in my most recent article, I've noticed something of a (massive) spike in visitor traffic to the humble little blog you now find yourself reading. That so many of you from such wide and varied locales consider my ramblings worth your time is really inspiring, so thank you kindly for stopping by. Similar thanks to the wonderful online communities of cocktailian writers, bloggers and foodies for their generous advice, encouragement, linkage & overall good-will...

Among these wonderful groups is the shiny-new foodie community Foodbuzz.com, which has just recently gone live & whose lovely badge you may have noticed gracing my site. Simply put, it is a veritable hub of inspirational activity - with featured publishers and contributing members churning out brilliant articles and recipes in just about every conceivable area of food & drink. For the official press release & explanation of what Foodbuzz is about, check here. Alternately you can just get a (visually-stunning) glance at some of their finest contributors with their inaugural 24, 24, 24 video. Barring those, just leap right into the fray with a visit to the main site...

Similarly, a huge thanks to our friends at Liqurious.com (formerly the well-missed Tastespotting.com) for showcasing photos of not only my, but dozens of my favorite bloggers' drinks! Especial thanks to the mysterious individual ( ? ) who keeps adding me to the queue there!

A final thanks to Gabriel from Cocktailnerd.com and Rick of Kaiserpenguin.com for their tireless work in establishing the Mixoloseum - a fantastic chat forum where cocktailians from all over might gather to discuss our favorite mixological projects & plans in authentic "nineties-style". This friendly forum (home of the fantastically-entertaining weekly TDN) also plays host to themed panel discussions, often visited by venerable names in the mixological multiverse, where it is a truly-inspirational venue. This was certainly the case during the most recent panel on garnishing cocktails:

Led by Tiare of A Mountain of Crushed Ice & Rick, with a gracious (& insightful) appearance by Jeff "Beachbum" Berry of Exotic/Tiki-drink fame, this discussion was a showcase of some of the most beautiful (& functional) examples of garnish I've ever seen, paired with historical information on the topic by the 'Bum and lots of banter on how to accomplish such artistry at home. As a fitting conclusion to this panel, Tiare has proposed a Garnish Contest open to all. So, as a conclusion to my (not-so-brief) lapse into thankful sentimentality, here are my entries - delicious cocktails both - which showcase the effects a particular garnish can have on a libation's enjoyment (©):

Blood & Brandy
1½ oz. VSOP Brandy (Raynal)
½ oz. Rhum Agricole Blanc (La Favorite)
1 Teaspoon: Campari
1 oz. fresh Blood Orange juice
1 oz. Simple syrup
1x fresh Egg white
2 dashes: Peychaud's bitters
Combine ingredients, except bitters, in a mixing glass and dry shake to incorporate & emulsify. Add ice and shake well before straining into a chilled cocktail glass. Dash bitters on top of foam & swirl into a pattern with a toothpick before adding a flamed twist of Blood Orange.

Sudanese Rose
1½ oz. Rhum Agricole Blanc (La Favorite)
½ oz. Lillet Blonde
2 oz. Karkade (Hibiscus tisane, Jaimaica also works fine)
3-4 dashes: Hibiscus Grenadine
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass & stir well with plenty of ice. Strain into a double-rocks glass, half-filled with ice. Garnish with a twist of Lime, sprig of fresh Peppermint & an organic Rose petal.

Both cocktails make visually-appealing (IMHO) use of aromatic garnishes - ones which contribute primarily to the olfactory aspects of the libations in question. The Peychaud's used in the Blood & Brandy sits delicately atop the foam created by the egg white, while the flamed Blood Orange peel adds both flavor & aroma to said foam (and through it, the liquid slumbering beneath). As the Sudanese Rose is a composition in subtle floral & botanical flavors, the addition of the acidic citrus oil provides a nice contrasting element to these tastes - helping to keep them in line, as it were. The aromas of the peppermint and rose provide a refreshing olfactory experience to match & enhance the tart flavors of the Hibiscus tisane in the cocktail. Neither beverage, like so many other (equally dolled-up) libations would be even remotely the same, were they to go out sans garnish...
Cheers & Thanks again!

Only Funkin'

It sometimes seems that those of us who write cocktail blogs are especially prone to following similar lines of booze-soaked thinking. I sometimes think it must be some sort of collective-subconscious inspired in part by our prodigious drinking habits...

Case in point - I embarked upon this post with the aim of writing about a certain pair of Tiki cocktails of which I am rather fond when, hey presto, I check my blog reader to see that Tiare - the fabulously-talented mixologist from A Mountain of Crushed Ice - has beat me to the punchbowl as it were. Her research & descriptions of those classic cocktails, the Dr. Funk and Funk's Son specifically, are both spot-on and well-done (as always). That she prepared the drinks in a pair of beautifully-executed ice towers (!), makes her post an incredibly hard act to follow. Nevertheless, I'll make an attempt to contribute something to the topic of the inestimable Doctor Funk...

In my recent and fairly long-winded vacation recap, I mentioned a number of spirits I had acquired in my travels. One of these was a French Pastis flavored with Violets - an interesting spirit of 45% ABV which reminds me considerably of a combination of the best elements of both Herbsaint and Crème de Violette. After getting a feel for its strength & (very) pleasant flavor, I began searching for a use for the stuff in cocktails. Despite a few marginal successes with some recipes from the Savoy cocktail book, the savory use of Absinthe/Pastis as an addition to many of Tiki barman Donn Beach's libations continued to spring to mind...

One of the finest examples of this modifier is the good Samoan doctor's cocktail, which Trader Vic speculated was originally invented to cure the cathard (the loss of ones' mind from the heat). After a bit of experimentation with the various recipes for the original, alongside a variety of substitutions for different ingredients, I settled with a riff on the (slightly-simplified) Dr. Funk recipe which Jeff "Beachbum" Berry prepared for an episode of The Cocktail Spirit filmed at the close of this year's Tales of the Cocktail. Maybe there is something to this boozy collective-subconscious thing after all? In any case, here she is, a very funky libation named after an old song by another hard act to follow - Bad Manners (©):

Only Funkin'
1½ oz. flavorful white Rum (Rhum Barbancourt white)
¾ Tsp. Pastis au Violette
¾ Tsp. Hibiscus Grenadine
¾ oz. fresh Lemon juice
¾ oz. Violet "Tea" Syrup (see below)
1 oz. Seltzer
2 Tsp. heavy dark Rum (Cruzan Blackstrap)
Combine all ingredients except Seltzer & dark Rum in a cocktail shaker filled with cracked ice. Shake well & strain into a chimney glass ¾-filled with crushed ice. Top with Seltzer, give a brief stir and float the dark Rum on top, adding more crushed ice if necessary. Garnish with a long twist of Lemon & an edible Violet.

Violet "Tea" Syrup
1 Cup: white Sugar
¾ Cup: Water
2½ Tablespoons: Blue Violet Herb Mix
1 Tsp. dried Hibiscus flowers, coarsely ground
Combine ingredients in a saucepan & bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Simmer for five minutes & remove from heat. Allow Violet Mixture to steep until liquid cools to room temperature before fine-straining out solids & bottling (a small tea ball/infuser will minimize this step considerably).

Can't find a Violet-flavored Pastis or get ahold of the required herbal blend? The following substitutions work fairly well & produce almost the same beverage with only marginally more work. For the Violet Pastis, a mixture of approximately 2/3 Herbsaint & 1/3 Crème de Violette is fine. For the Violet "Tea" Syrup, a 3:1 blend of Monin Violet Syrup (or an equivalent commercial syrup) with strong Green tea will more or less replicate the flavor you're seeking...

Cheers & Enjoy!