Cocktails & Spirits

World Cup Cocktails: Group C

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Another World Cup group, another chance to talk history. There will be many things fizzy, bitter, sweet, and smoky, but first we have history! Woo-hoo!

This cocktail discussion starts in South America, in the region that would come to be known as Gran Colombia (modern-day Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, and parts of neighboring countries). In the early 19th century, the people of Gran Colombia revolted against the Spanish crown. One man who emerged from this war of independence was Simón Bolívar, a military and political leader whose legacy in South America would grow to the level of George Washington’s in the USA.

Within Bolívar’s army was a German born-doctor, who created a medicinal tonic from local Gran Colombia ingredients. As the army pushed into modern-day Venezuela, this doctor created his first batch of tonic in the city of Angostura. Even though the city’s name changed, and the operation moved to Trinidad, this medicinal alcohol retains the name — Angostura bitters.

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World Cup Cocktails: Group B

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One of the reasons I enjoy international competitions like World Cup is the opportunity to lace both humor & drink-mixing with history:

He’s referencing the defeat at the Spanish Armada at the hands of English (and Dutch) naval forces. Naturally. This little tete-a-tete was a part of the broad, bloody epic of the Eighty Years’ War, a continent-spanning conflict that was ostensibly about Protestant Netherlands revolting against Catholic Spain.

If you look closely, you’ll see a Van Persie launching cannonballs with his head.

What better way to celebrate the Netherlands dispensing a revenge-fueled soccer beatdown against highly-favored Spain than with a cocktail? If we’re going to build a drink that pays homage to these two belligerents, it’s only fitting that we build it around their nationalistic alcohols: genever and sherry.

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World Cup Cocktails: Group A

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You’re watching the World Cup, and the important question is not what tactical formation Nigeria’s coach is employing, but what drink you’re deploying. I propose a few humble cocktail suggestions over the course of eight posts — one for each group, inspired by the teams battling to escape said group.

What are my criteria for these cocktails? In the end, it comes down to what I’d want to drink… and what I will drink, since none of these recipes will go untasted. It’s a selfless act, I know. Also, my morning self will need a lot of coffee this next week.

In general, though, cocktails will take the one of three forms:

  1. A national cocktail, or a drink strongly associated with one or more teams
  2. A cocktail taking inspiration from a team’s name or colors
  3. A cocktail utilizing ingredients from one or more teams’ countries

For the Group A cocktails, I’ll do one of each of the above three. The cocktails will cover the group consisting of Brazil, Cameroon, Mexico, and Croatia. The natural starting point is the national drink that you cannot escape this World Cup: the Caipirinha. If you’ve seen any feature story about the culture of host country Brazil, you’ve likely seen someone mention this refreshing, rustic, and simple drink:

I am but a humble lime muddler.

I am but a humble lime muddler.

Caipirinha

Half a lime, cut into quarters
½ oz – simple syrup
2 oz – cachaça

In a shaker, muddle the limes and simple syrup. Add cachaça, add ice, and shake. Pour directly into an empty rocks glass — DO NOT STRAIN. No need for garnish.

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Recorded Conversations: New Favorites from 2012

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Welcome to “Recorded Conversations,” an occasional feature where all the Addison Recorder editors contribute their thoughts about a question, idea, or prompt. Everyone will chime in, and then we see where the conversation wanders.

Question: To ring in the New Year on the Recorder, we look to our recent past and ask “What new thing (or things) that you discovered in 2012 has become one of your favorites?”

Wait, seriously? It’s 2013?

Well… crap. Last I recall, it was September, and suddenly I look and I’ve been on a hiatus nearly as long as Homestar Runner (.com). But I shall clear the cobwebs and my fuzzy memory of the past twelve months to talk about discoveries and my new favorite thing(s). Before we get to the Favorites, let’s look at those that came oh-so-close:

THE WARM-UP

Once upon a time, I kept up with the cutting edge of music. Oh, sure, I continue to discover more quirky Scandinavian groups each year (Of Monsters & Men this year, Katzenjammer this year or last) to add to my tally, and put them in heavy rotation in my playlists. And I haven’t been totally absent in discovering new bands. I’m enjoying the debut album of critical darlings alt-J, but nothing this year has dethroned TV On The Radio’s Nine Types of Light, the 2011 album that is still my favorite. (If you have a spare hour, check out the album’s music video anthology:)

Other realms of popular culture fared similarly. I was poised to count the Minnesota Wild and the NHL as rediscovered new favorites… until the lockout killed half the season. [Read more…]

Recorded Conversations: Drink of Choice

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Welcome to “Recorded Conversations,” an occasional feature where all the Addison Recorder editors contribute their thoughts about a question, idea, or prompt. Everyone will chime in, and then we see where the conversation wanders. For today’s conversation, J. Michael Bestul looks forward to a few drinks over the Labor Day weekend, and wonders aloud what might be drinking.

Prompt: You’re at a bar, restaurant, or pub that you’ve never been to before. The place has a pretty good drinks list, and on it, you notice ____________. And because this is one thing you always have to try when you’re at a new place, you order it.

Question: What is ____________, and why is it the libation you order?

—

Oh wait, it’s August now. Never mind.

Take two.

(I just want it to be very clear that my drink of choice is not Maus by Art Spiegelman. In no universe is it a statement that I will walk into a bar to see if they have a Kristillnacht Martini and whether or not it meets my given standards. That’s just (a) morally incomprehensible, and (b) silly. Also, I’m not a fan of Krystal Vodka. But we’ll get there.)

I’m honestly a big fan of just going into a bar and ordering a beer. My preferred brews of choice are Smithwicks, Newcastle, whatever Oktoberfest brew is on tap, or a good ale that pours nicely and goes well with a burger and bar fries. Smithwicks in particular is a favorite. It’s a beer to me that speaks to having just finished a hard day’s work.

My mover’s fee is not extravagant. Just efficient. Like me!

(It was also a gift after I helped my friend Beth move. This was the time where I discovered that one of my mutant powers is the ability to load a moving truck in the most efficient, durable, and easily accessible way, a talent that has come in useful several times since. Many friends will vouch for me not only for that move, but for others moves since (including some of our Recorder staff!) I transformed what looked to be at least four trips between apartments into a trip and a half, and was rewarded by Beth with a six pack of Smithwicks and pizza. This is also the best moving payment ever. But we’ve gotten off topic.)

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Recorded Conversations: Drink of Choice

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Welcome to “Recorded Conversations,” an occasional feature where all the Addison Recorder editors contribute their thoughts about a question, idea, or prompt. Everyone will chime in, and then we see where the conversation wanders. For today’s conversation, J. Michael Bestul looks forward to a few drinks over the Labor Day weekend, and wonders aloud what might be drinking.

Prompt: You’re at a bar, restaurant, or pub that you’ve never been to before. The place has a pretty good drinks list, and on it, you notice ____________. And because this is one thing you always have to try when you’re at a new place, you order it.

Question: What is ____________, and why is it the libation you order?

—

To explain my contribution to the conversation, I must pay due respect to three people who shaped my philosophy on ordering drinks in public places.

When I was developing my palate for alcohol, my parents allowed me to try anything and everything they were drinking. My mother has a taste which runs towards mimosas, Bellinis, cosmopolitans, etc., and I also attended many college parties where fruity and sweet mixers were in fashion. For a long time, I preferred incredibly sweet cocktails. But a couple months before I earned my master’s degree, I went out to dinner with my parents at one of the best restaurants in Chicago, ordered such a drink, and received a frown from my father.

(My father’s answer to this question, by the way, would be a martini, with Hendrick’s Gin if available, almost no vermouth, and a twist of cucumber.)

If you’ve never had Hendrick’s, by the way, it is the NECTAR OF THE GODS. The finest nationally-available alcohol there is. What are you waiting for?

“Andrew,” he said to me, “you’re getting older, and drinks like this…they aren’t you.”
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Recorded Conversations: Drink of Choice

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Welcome to “Recorded Conversations,” an occasional feature where all the Addison Recorder editors contribute their thoughts about a question, idea, or prompt. Everyone will chime in, and then we see where the conversation wanders. For today’s conversation, J. Michael Bestul looks forward to a few drinks over the Labor Day weekend, and wonders aloud what might be drinking.

Prompt: You’re at a bar, restaurant, or pub that you’ve never been to before. The place has a pretty good drinks list, and on it, you notice ____________. And because this is one thing you always have to try when you’re at a new place, you order it.

Question: What is ____________, and why is it the libation you order?

—

This question sprang up last month, when I went to a relatively new bar with a good whisky list. On this list was a particular single malt, Caol Ila 18-year. And I ordered it, as I always do, with the full expectation that I would not get it. Someone would (and did) come along to tell me that, sorry, but they were planning to get the 18-year, but were unable to do so.

I expect this answer because you can’t find a bottle of the 18-year for sale in the U.S., but its distributor seems to give the impression to restaurants that they can. I’ve yet to order a Caol Ila 18-year and actually receive it. But I keep asking for it, since it was the first single malt I’d ever tasted.

If only…

I thought it would be fun to put the question to my fellow Addison Recorder colleagues, as it is broad enough to include responses ranging from “anything with grapefruit” to “locally-brewed porter” to a specific single malt Scotch.

Forgetting the Caol Ila, there is one drink I will always try if it’s on a bar’s menu: the Blood & Sand cocktail, or any variation on it.

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Tincture, Bitters, Citrate, Shrub

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Anyone who spends even a few minutes on Twitter knows that’s it’s rather cluttered. Its main export is white noise, and you can lose a lot of time sifting through the static. But amidst the abbreviations and attempts to cram as much meaning into 140 characters as possible, I occasionally come across a tweet that hits me with a +3 Hammer of Concise Truthiness. For example:

Very seriously.

I realize it’s not earth-shattering – a man who has a business making fine bitters in the UK, tweeting about the product he makes. But to approach it in such a way is too dismissive. There is a cocktail renaissance of late, and bitters are an integral part of that event; were this not the case, he wouldn’t have much of a business making bitters, would he?

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the Longship cocktail

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Despite the idiom that is meant to admonish, I find there is value in ‘reinventing the wheel’ when it comes to cocktails. A classic recipe can provide a great framework to inspire new ideas and experimentations.

Take the Longship, for example. The basic concept is that of a Sidecar, but with aquavit. It also bears close resemblance to the Sailor Mercury, another aquavit-based cocktail with similarities to a Sidecar. Rather than the floral flavors of the Parfait Amour, however, this drink utilizes the intense and unique aromatics of kaffir limes. (If you can find the kaffir limes, making the tincture is quite simple; see below.)

This recipe is tailored to my palate, and I tend to favor cocktails that are spirit-forward (i.e., boozy) and not too sweet. Since we’re using a classic recipe as framework, it’s pretty easy to adjust for your own tastes. Want a cocktail that focuses less on the base spirit, and is a bit sweeter? Take the the aquavit down to 1.75 or 1.5 oz, and add a spoonful or three of simple syrup — tweaking proportions like this can help you tailor cocktail recipes to the liking of you and your friends.

the Longship

2 oz – aquavit
.5 oz – triple sec
.25 oz – fresh lime juice
kaffir lime tincture

Combine first three ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake, then strain into a coupe glass. Top with a few drops of kaffir lime tincture, and garnish with an orange boat & brandied cherry.

Kaffir lime tincture – take the leaves and/or zest of 2 kaffir limes, and place into a small jar. Cover with a high-proof, neutral spirit — Everclear, Spiritus, or 100-proof vodka — and seal the jar, storing out of the light for 1-2 weeks. Shake daily, and start checking the tincture after the first week. Once ready, strain out the solids — voila, you have a tincture.

Aquavit Old Fashioned

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For Tales of the Cocktail 2012, the bartender competition was to craft the perfect Old Fashioned using the basic recipe of spirt + sweetener + water + fruit. I’m not exactly a bartender, but I can still have fun coming up with my own Old Fashioned using homemade bitters and locally-produced aquavit.

(I thought I was rather clever using this combination, until I found another blog that came up with a very, very similar recipe a year ago. Ah, well.)

The drink is built around the Aquavit – Private Reserve from North Shore Distillery. The preferred bitters would be any that have a pronounced chocolate and/or coffee aroma. If you’re out of grapefruit, you could use an orange peel in a pinch — but grapefruit works so unbelievably well with aquavit, you’ll be missing out if you substitute.

Aquavit Old Fashioned

2 oz. aquavit
.25 oz simple syrup (1:1)
swath of grapefruit peel
couple dashes of chocolate / mocha bitters

In a rocks glass, muddle the peel with the syrup & bitters. Add ice, add aquavit, stir, and serve.