FIRST ATTEMPT by Eric D. Anderson: As you might be able to tell, we at the Rituals love to dwell on failure. Our failure. It certainly has more entertainment value (at least for us) than relentless positivity. This week’s beverage is emblematic of this passion. The fact that the ALE FLIP has its roots in Medieval…
Ale, ale, prunelle. Like some outlandish alcoholic version of Duck Duck Goose, today we delve into some early cocktail history and end with a defunct liqueur. We also have a guest with us today, James Mann. Eric and I have known James for quite a while. We all met early on in our careers in…
Depending on one’s personality, a new year can represent a new start or a chance to really dwell on the past. Let’s be realistic for a second, okay? January is an excellent month to analyze all of the delusional (and unrealized) resolutions of years past—all of the misguided hopes and broken dreams. Pay attention! If…
I arrive at Brian’s thinking how grateful his wife Amanda must be now that we have finished the cooking and bottling portion of the Rituals (at least for awhile). The ACADIAN MEAD is aging in his closet, sure, but it’s out of sight and out of mind. We’ll be using our homemade ANISETTE today and our DIY CRÈME…
The A section of The Complete World Bartender Guide has 113 cocktail recipes, 8 liquors, and 7 punches for a grand total of 134 beverages we need to make and consume. Not every session can be cocktails and fun. Some days we need to make the liquors and punches. This week we have decided to tackle a liqueur…
ACE .75 oz. gin (Plymouth) .25 oz. grenadine (Jack Rudy) 2 tsp. cream .5 egg white Shake with ice, pour, sprinkle nutmeg, and serve. Hands down this is not a good cocktail. Eric picks up on this right away. I, however, don’t really taste the drink and just slug back a mouthful. My second sip is…
ACAPULCO 1 ¾ oz rum (Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum) ¼ oz triple sec (Pierre Ferrand Curaçao) 1 egg white ½ oz lime juice Sugar to taste Mint leaves Combine with ice; shake into pre-chilled glass. Strain. Add ice and top with one or two mint leaves, partially torn. This looks like a boozy rum sidecar…
Today we’ll be making three things from scratch: a homemade CRÈME DE MENTHE for rounding out our absinthe duties, the promisingly innocuous ACAPULCO (next in the A’s), and our ACADIAN MEAD recipe (or non-recipe, depending on how you look at it). But before we can move on to these newest of challenges, Brian and I…
ABSINTHE SUISSESSE 1 ½ oz. absinthe or a substitute (St. George) 1 egg white Several drops of anisette (Rituals DIY, brandy version) and white crème de menthe (Rituals DIY) A few drops of orange flower water (Fee Brothers) Combine with ice; shake well. Strain straight up. The ABSINTHE SUISSESSE is our final absinthe drink in…
ABSINTHE AND EGG 1.5 oz. Absinthe (Vieux Pontarlier) .5 oz. Gin (Plymouth) 1 Egg White Add sugar to taste Shake with ice, pour over shaved ice, and serve. Egg whites impart a smooth creamy texture to the cocktails without having to resort to using actual cream, which would change the flavor and have a fatty feel…
In the world of cocktails there is nothing more Ritualistic than absinthe. After the first session Eric and I are optimistic for the next few drinks in the book, which all contain absinthe. While we are attempting to follow along with the drinks in the book, there are a few we can’t get to because…
On April 5, 2015 at 02:31 PM, Marjiann Moss <xxxx@xxxx.com> wrote: Dearest Eric, This sounds hysterical, and if it works, I’ll be amazed. Yes, I think a quarter recipe sounds about right for a trial. At least at that point, it’s just a few eggs and lemons, not your precious rot-gut rum and, um, rock…
I wake up feeling pretty good today. Feeling pretty good because I had had a few cocktails the night before and I felt better than expected. I make breakfast and tend to some small chores around the house. I keep passing from my kitchen to the bathroom. One of the rooms along that path is the…
Brian steers his car into the Whole Foods parking lot and everyone turns to look. Something is wrong with the hubcap on the passenger side—something is smacking around repeatedly down there—and it sounds rather like horse’s hooves. Or coconuts being banged together. So we gallop into our parking space like the cavalry, which is what…
On March 15, 2015, at 7:39 PM, Brian Christie <xxxxxx@xxxxx.com> wrote: Eric- There are 127 drinks in the A chapter of The Complete World Bartender Guide: The Standard Reference to More Than 2,400 Drinks, copyright 1977; two of which are actual boozes you make (ACADIAN MEAD and APRICOT VODKA) and three of which are punches. I’m still in…
A-1 PICK-ME-UP 1 pint dark rum 1 lb. rock candy 1 doz. eggs 1 doz. lemons Squeeze the juice of the lemons into a crock pot; add the eggs broken in their shells. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to stand for several days (the shells will dissolve.) When ready strain through the cheesecloth…