The very promising ALBERTINE requests equal parts Cointreau, Yellow Chartreuse, and kirsch (cherry brandy), with a dash of maraschino bitters. This is unusual combination of strong-willed liquors—each is capable of dominating its own drink—and we are curious to see if each ingredient will try to play well with others. Then again it could be a street fight. After…
Lately I’ve been biking to Brian’s place when he hosts the Rituals. This seems like a safe and effective way to bookend cocktail tasting with a workout, and it is. The laws on drinking and riding your bike vary from state to state, but in California it is definitely illegal so I always make sure…
The ALABAMA is the only beverage in its session without “special” in its name. Humility is important in a cocktail, we are discovering, but it’s also the death knell if you’re a cocktail trying to survive amongst an ocean of self-aggrandizing, self-promoting millennials. A cocktail that has really mastered SEO and branding is the Alabama Slammer,…
AFTER DINNER 1.5 oz. apricot brandy (Rothman and Winter Orchard Apricot) 1.5 oz. curaçao (Ferrand Dry Curaçao) 2 oz. lime juice Combine with ice; shake. Strain. Add a twist of lime and ice. Drop in the peel. This week we recorded our tasting notes so we could remember all of the good points. Eric It’s…
I hop in the Lyft I requested minutes ago. As I sit into the front seat bottles can be heard clanking and clinking. “How’s your day going,” the driver asks. To which I reply, “It’s about to get better. Heading to a friend’s to have some cocktails.” This is how most of my Lyft rides…
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…