Cocktails

I have written more than a few words about Bulleit Bourbon. When I first started exploring whiskey I shied away from Bourbon, mostly because of my college memories of Wild Turkey in the mountains of southern California. I remembered Bourbon as harsh and fiery and a one-way ticket to a bottle of aspirin.

At WhiskyFest 2007 I snagged a bit of glassware from the Bulleit Bourbon table. I wasn't tasting Bourbons that night so I left with just the glass. The branding stuck with me though because about a month later I was checking prices at Trader Joe's and Bulleit was about $20, so I picked it up. That first bottle was shared with everyone I could hand it to. I was so delighted with this wonderful spirit that I had to share.

Now that Hockey season is back, and the San Jose Sharks are doing well, I thought it was time to finally publish the recipe for one of my favorite "silly" drinks: The Sharkiekaze. I call this a "silly" cocktail because it is based on a classic, but tweaked for color.

The Sharkiekaze is based on the IBA recipe for the Kami Kaze and turned teal to honor my favorite NHL franchise. 

• 1 part (3cl) Vodka
• 1 part (3cl) Triple Sec
• 1 part (3cl) fresh sqeezed lime juice or Rose's Lime
• Dash of Blue Curacao to desired teal color

Add all ingredients into cocktail glass shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with a gummy shark.

Rum and Root Beer was an accidental creation of BayCon. I was invited in for a mandatory drink by and old acquaintance. He had Meyers Rum but no Coke. So I grabbed the closed thing I could find -- Henry Weinhard's Root Beer.

This proved to be the most fortuitous accident of my drinking life. Root Beer complements rum much more cleanly than Coke. It also works well with spiced rum.

Mike has been present for many expirements with the Rum and Root Beer. We've varied both ingredients up and down the scale. Rums include Captain Morgan, Captain Morgan Tatoo, Captain Morgan Silver, Whalers, and Sailor Jerry. Root beers have included Weinhard's, IBC, Jones, Hansen's, Mug, A&W, and the favorite, Virgil's.

Virgil's and Captain Morgan Tattoo has been cited as the best combination.

Ratios vary, but with a sweet rum 2 parts Root Beer to 1 part rum works. Add more root beer as your taste suits.

Once again into the breech of Rum based cocktails! Whiskey is the drink of choice here, but we're gearing up for Baycon '08 and having some fun with Captain Morgan Tattoo and Bulleit Bourbon.

So here is another pirate creation for use with dark rum and extreme caution. We were going to call this the "Will Turner" but that innuendo is too direct. My will was turned and we changed the name to Bootstrap.

Good sweet rums are wonderful for mixing with sodas. The right spiced rum brings a whole new lampshade to any soda party. With Bootstrap it is Cream Soda. This is one of the more successful experiments in the vein of the Black Pearl.

Feel free to push the boundaries with the ingredients, I don't think you can go wrong.

• 1oz (3cl) Captain Morgan Tattoo
• 5oz (15cl) IBC Cream Soda

Serve chilled over ice in an 8oz highball glass and garnish with a straw.

I'm so happy St' Patrick's day is here again. The one day a year I can convince a large number of my coworkers to join me in some good Irish cheer. Every year I celebrate at the office by making a large pot of coffee, bringing in some whipping (or whipped) cream and a bottle of Irish Whiskey. I have a feeling that Guinness might make an appearance as well.

This year, in honor of Bushmills 400th anniversary, I wll be making them with Bushmills Original Irish Whiskey. I was considering going with Bushmills Black Bush or Bushmills Malt 10 but settled on the Bushmills Original for economic reasons.Not the least of which is that I can get a full liter of Original for less than a 750ml of the other two. Also just to sweeten the deal a little bit more, I'll bring in the Carolan's Irish Cream. I normally stock Bailey's Irish Cream but I'm out at the moment and the Carolan's was a very good deal at Christmas.

Ah blessed science.

To develop and select the Whiskey Bros. approved Rob Roy we need research. We pulled up the eight blended whiskys that we happen to have on hand: Buchannan 12, Chivas Regal 12 Chivas Regal 18, Famous Grouse, Johnnie Walker Black, Johnnie Walker Green, Johnnie Walker Red, And Suntory Hibiki for evaluation. We promptly put the Hibiki back away where it belongs, before my wife beat me.

The Rob Roy was First served at the Dorchester Hotel London, 1909 and Johnnie Walker was the Scotch of choice. Hence our inclusion of the three most common varieties of Johnnie Walker in this test.

We've decided to persue the "Perfect" Rob Roy, also known as Beal's Cocktail which is made with equal parts dry and sweet vermouth, a couple of dashes of bitters and Blended Scotch Whisky.

The Rob Roy is basically a Manhattan made with Scotch whiskey. It is named for Robert Roy MacGregor.

I don't have my own recipe yet, but I will get one together after some experimentation. I think that finding the right ingredients for me will take some thought. Many of the Scotch whiskeys that I would choose are "done". The idea of using Vermouth and bitters to "enhance" a scotch seems like using neon spray paint to enhance the David. Maybe that's just the single-malts talking again.

I think I will try Scotch that is generally available, one that could take the new flavors as an addition instead of grafitti. Johnny Walker Red or Black are used commonly but I try to be different, so maybe Glenfiddich. Using Johnny Walker Green seems like a case of subtraction by addition, but anything is possible. I won't know until I try. A lowland single malt Scotch would be from the same neighborhood as Rob Roy himself, though bitters and Vermouth aren't exactly local.

The IBA describes it this way:

Even though the Martini gets all the press these days, the Manhattan is an older drink with stronger provenance. Where the modern Martini bears little resemblance to its early incarnations, the Manhattan has retained much of the original character. Both can easily find their roots in the 1800's but were developed on opposite coasts.

My first Manhattan was made with Crown Royal as I will describe below. This seemed like a perfectly reasonable choice for a Manhattan, but for some reason the last couple bar tenders have not agreed.The last time I ordered a Manhattan, their preference was for Maker's Mark. The traditional whiskey was rye, but like so many modern interpretations of old drinks, bourbon has become the whiskey of choice.

I serve my Crown Royal Manhattans in a martini glass, stirred and straight up. Here's my recipe:

The Old Fashioned is cited as the oldest cocktail. This claim comes from the early 19th century and defining the word "cocktail" in a manner that describes this very drink. So deeply rooted in cocktail history is the Old Fashioned that the glass it is served in is called an Old Fashioned.

As I've been sharpening my palate on single malts, my thirst for cocktails has waned. There are a couple though that will meet my need for complexity and variety at a basic bar. The old fashioned is wonderful in that it brings added character, body and flavor to normally pedestrian whiskeys. When it's made with a really good bourbon like Bulleit, it's even better.

Here is my personal recipe for the Bulleit Old Fashioned:

• 7.5 ml (1/4 oz) simple syrup
• 5cl (1.5oz) Bulleit Bourbon
• 3 dashes Angostura bitters

Mix all ingredients over 3-4 ice cubes in an old fashioned glass. No garnish is required. Zest with orange and rub the rim if you want some extra citrus zap, but you don't need it.

The White Russian is the Dude's drink of choice in The Big Lebowski. It was also one of Mike's favorites before he discovered Jameson. I hadn't had one until I found a bottle of Starbuck Coffee Liqueur at a local shop for a bargain. The version I'm making now is with Skyy and Starbuck's but the construction is the same:

• 5.0 cl (5 parts) Vodka
• 2.0 cl (2 parts) Coffee liqueur
• 3.0 cl (3 parts) Fresh cream or Half and Half

Preparation: Pour coffee liqueur and vodka directly into old fashioned glass filled with ice. Float fresh cream on the top and stir in slowly.

Like most mixed drinks this one has variations though the only extreme on is to use flavored vodka or the new Kahlua flavors. This gets you into the realm of Vanilla white Russians and the Hazlenut White Russian. Messing with anything besides a vanilla vodka in this context will probably constitute alcohol abuse.

Wikipedia Entry

Irish Coffee has always been a great drink for many nocturnal adventures. The caffiene keeps you up and the whiskey keeps you loose. It's wonderful for a good time at the casino when you just want to have fun ... all night long. Obviously alcohol and better judgement rarely go hand in hand so use the extra hours of stimulant-induced joy sanely.

There's plenty of legend surrounding this drink, but it apparently goes back to the 1940's and an Irish airport.

The Basics:

• 2 parts Irish whiskey
• 4 parts fresh hot coffee
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• fresh whipped cream

There is a special glass for Irish Coffe, but you don't really need it. I start by dropping the sugar into the cup, then the coffee, stir in the whiskey and quickly top with the cream. Canned cream is perfect for rolling out a bunch of these at a party. The most important ingredients to get right are the coffee and the whiskey.

Last night we ended up at Applebee's for a late meal. On the drink menu was the Mocahtini which is just another creamy sweet vodka drink served in a martini glass.
Ingredients: 

• One part Stoli's Vanillia
• One part Starbucks Coffee Liqueur
• One part Godiva Chocolate Liqueur

Fill the bottom of a martini glass with Hershey's Chocolate Syrup. Shake ingerdients over ice and serve with a shake of cocoa powder on the top.
 

TheMudslide Martini showed up at TGI Friday's some time ago. My wife enjoys it there and the version I make at home. I've made a number of modifications playing with this drink.

The Basics:

• One part Vanilla Vodka
• One part Coffee Liqueur
• One part Irish Cream
• One part cream

Preapre a martini glass with a ring of Hershey's Syrup about 3/4 of the way up. Shake over ice and pour to the level of your chocolate ring.

TGI Friday's uses Absolut Vanilla, Kahlua and Starbucks Cream. Right now I'm using Smirnoff Vanilla, Carolan's Irish Cream, and Starbucks Coffee Liqueur. I also use whole milk instead of cream just to cut down the fat the tiniest bit. Bailey's Irish Cream is a good replacement as well.

You can also mix the ingredients ahead of time and store a bottle of these in the freezer. Be careful though, the milk will freeze and give you a mudslide slushie, which may not be what you're looking for.

Here is a collection of mixed drinks and cocktails that are collected from various places. Click through for the recipe and associated stories.

The Black Pearl -- Developed by accident at a science fiction convention. Made with Rum and Root Beer

Black Toothed Grin -- Pantera fans understand

The BLT or The Tom Bulleit -- Bulleit, Lemon and Tonic, you can trust me on this/

Bootstrap -- Rum and Cream Soda

CC & Ginger Ale -- My grandfather's drink, and a few twists.

Dagobah -- Fennel Julep ... Still in development.

Doctor Morgan -- Sure to cure what ails you.

Duck Fart -- drunk by the captains of The Deadliest Catch before the fleet departs from Dutch Harbor

Flying Irishman -- Jameson and Redbull. Great for dancing.

Irish Coffee -- Many variations, the grand-daddy of all caffeine + alcohol party drinks. RedBull and Vodka owes it all to Irish Coffee.

I've often wondered how a Starbuck's Frappuccino would serve as the base for an Irish Coffee. Tonight, motive means and opportunity collided at a birthday party for my mother-in-law.

As it happened, my wife and I stopped on our way to Vallejo to grab a snack and some cake decorations. I also grabbed a couple of Frappuccinos for my wife and myself. I had the vanilla and she the mocha. I had also brought along a liter bottle of Bushmills Original that had a couple of tastes off the top fully intending to get it in some coffee and cream. When we got there I found the microwave and nuked up the remainder of my drink and added half again that much whiskey.
It worked! I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor, better than I had thought. I'm not sure if it was the vanilla that made the difference as I've always been partial to a touch of vanilla in my Irish Coffee but this was really good. It got passed around for a couple of quick tastes and the concensus was there also.