After a long hiatus, Rob finally has a new cocktail worthy of posting!  I was asked to create a signature cocktail for a Spanish-themed fundraiser for Tehiyah School, where my friend Joan’s daughter Sophie attends, and also to head up the bartending staff at the event.  They had an initial suggested recipe called the Sao Paolo Samba, consisting of Absolut Mandarin vodka, lime juice, and simple syrup.  I tried this and it was reasonably drinkable and refreshing, but not very nuanced.  And besides, we needed a Spanish-themed cocktail, not a Brazilian one, and I wanted to put my own stamp on the drink in any case.  So after the usual extensive experimentation and arduous sampling over several weeks, the Sevilla Mandarina was born.  The final recipe combines the lovely tangerine-flavored Absolut Mandarin with equal parts fresh tangerine juice, lime juice, Cointreau (thanks Shannon for suggesting), and simple syrup, and I believe it achieves the desired effect of a refreshing yet multi-layered quaff that with a little imagination transports one to the patio of a bodega on a warm night in Seville, contemplating the beautiful Moorish architecture while listening to flamenco music.  Ole!

Sevilla Mandarina

• 4 parts Absolut Mandarin vodka
• 1 part fresh tangerine juice (Trader Joe’s works well)
• 1 part fresh lime juice
• 1 part Cointreau
• 1 part simple syrup
• Garnish:  Skewered blueberries & strawberries or kumquat

Shake all ingredients vigorously in a shaker half full of ice, strain into cocktail classes, and enjoy.

Note that for ease of serving or transporting, you can pre-mix equal parts tangerine & lime juice and Cointreau & simple syrup,  then combine those mixtures with the mandarin vodka in a 2:1:1 ratio.  I used this trick to enjoy Sevillas all through a trip to Panama by traveling with a liter plastic bottle of  Absolut Mandarin and 2 half liter water bottles with the juice and Cointreau/syrup mixtures in my luggage…

Related posts:

1. Guava Lemon Drop, Passion Fruit Margarita, Mandarin Cosmopolitan
2. A Taste of Persia

When thinking about a Thanksgiving cocktail there are a variety of considerations. Thanksgiving is an American holiday so you need typically American ingredients. And November is in the thick of fall…so autumnal flavors are also a consideration. And, of course, if you can work in flavors associated with the traditional Thanksgiving meal you’re doing even better.

So, in this spirit, I present the Turkey Daze. Start with Rye Whiskey and incorporate fresh apple cider. Some fresh squeezed lemon juice and simple syrup round out the primary flavors. And add egg white to build a nice foam on top of the drink, whose main purpose is to present an attractive garnish of swirled bitters and grated cinnamon. As follows…

• 3 parts Wild Turkey Rye.
• 1 oz Lemon Juice
• 1 oz Fresh Apple Cider
• 1 oz Simple Syrup
• Egg white (1 per 2 drinks)
• Dash Angostura and Peychaud’s Bitters
• Cinnamon Stick

Combine the Rye, Lemon Juice, Apple Cider, Simple Syrup and Egg White in a cocktail shaker without ice. Shake vigorously to break up and froth the egg white. Add a small amount of ice (too much and the froth breaks down) and shake vigorously again. Pour into a martini glass and wait a few moments for the egg white to settle to the top. Put a dash of each type of bitters on top. Use the cinnamon stick to gently swirl the bitters into an attractive spiral shape. Use a micro-grater on the dry end of the cinnamon stick to grate a bit of cinnamon on top. Fresh ground nutmeg might be gilding the lily. Which I’ve been known to do on occasion.

You did notice, of course, the use of Wild Turkey Rye. Bourbon would work, certainly, but if you’re making this for Thanksgiving and you use a brand other than Wild Turkey then, well, you’re missing the point.

There was a bit of discussion about what to name this. I started with the Turkey Pardon (after the strange ritual of the President of the United States pardoning a Turkey each Thanksgiving). Rob suggested Turkey’s Reprive which has a nice ring to it. But Shannon eventually won the day with the double-entendre Turkey Daze. After two of them this evening I couldn’t think of anything better.

Enjoy!  And stay tuned for another Thanksgiving drink for those who don’t like whiskey….but that’s a tale for later daze.

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I’m so darn glad he let me try it again
Cause my last time on earth I lived a whole world of sin
I’m so glad that I know more than I knew then
Gonna keep on tryin’
Till I reach the highest ground

What better inspiration for a new cocktail than the Stevie Wonder classic? The genesis of my latest creation was a commission from my friends Ann & Shawn to design a signature drink for a school fundraiser party they were throwing at their house. They had a rock cover band playing the gig, so the only requirements were that the drink be called The Higher Ground and that it should be easily made and served in large quantities to a party of 40+ guests. Oh, and of course the unspoken standard that it had to be really good so that everyone would imbibe heavily and have a great time.

As I thought about the rock & roll theme, I kept imagining Keith Richards swilling endless quantities of Rebel Yell bourbon from the bottle at Muscle Shoals Studio during the Sticky Fingers sessions. So bourbon would be the base. Then I thought about what would be refreshing and go down easy but still be strong enough to do the job, and preferably be servable on the rocks in a plastic tumbler and still look good. So that got me thinking about mint juleps and my previous Peach Whiskey Smash.  But both of those drinks are highly labor intensive, what with the muddling of mint and peaches and such. But bourbon, mint, and peaches sounded so good!  Flash of inspiration:  what about mint simple syrup that could be made ahead of time and some quality peach nectar?  Before I knew it, the Higher Ground had been born.

Michael and I tended bar at the party and the drink was a smashing success.  The guests took to the Higher Ground like Keith Richards to Rebel Yell and, well, whatever else. We ended up pouring almost all 5 liters of Maker’s Mark that had been allocated, and by the end we had a frenzy of bourbon-addled guests competing on the dance floor for who could reach the highest ground. So if you’re looking to kick your next party up a notch or for something really soulful and refreshing to sip on your back porch on the next hot day, I’d recommend that you take Stevie’s lyric to heart…

The Higher Ground

• 4 parts bourbon (Maker’s or other full bodied)
• 1 part lemon juice
• 1 part peach juice
• 1 part mint simple syrup
• Mint sprig and peach slice

Serve on the rocks with mint sprig & peach slice garnish and a sippin’ straw.

More Photos of The Higher Ground

Related posts:

1. Lemon Mint

• 1 part gin
• 1 part Luxardo (maraschino liquer)
• 1 part green Chartreuse
• 1 part lime juice

Served up, of course. I love the elegant simplicity of the equal proportions of each ingredient. It is a difficult combination to pull off, although the Negroni is a classic with the same elegance and Rob’s original Absinthe Triolet also achieves perfect balance.

Of course you might not have all of these on hand, although Luxardo should, by now, be a regular part of your bar setup (you do make an Aviation every now and again, don’t you?). But, as it happens, I found myself with neither Luxardo, Chartreuse nor lime juice. Aaack! But necessity is, of course, the mother of invention. So here’s what I came up with:

• 1 part gin
• 1 part triple sec (for the Luxardo)
• 1 part St. Germain (for the Chartreuse)
• 1 part lemon juice (for the lime)

The result is a fantastic, herbal libation that had Shannon nodding her head in agreement that it deserved a blog entry and a name. Since it was inspired by The Last Word, I’ve dubbed this drink The Post-Script.

Shannon also observed that, somehow, the combination gives birth to a lychee flavor. Very pleasant and intriguing. It can be served, like its inspiration, without a garnish, but I chose to add a brandied cherry and a bit syrup. You also might find it a bit too floral.  The solution to this is to back off on the St. Germain (subtract a 1/4 part) and add a bit more gin (add a 1/4 part). This does sacrafice the 1:1:1:1 ratio, which is a shame, but a small price to pay if you like the result better.

In any case…enjoy!

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Like many cocktailians, I’ve been inspired by the availability of genuine imported and domestic absinthe since the U.S. ban was lifted in 2007. Michael and I actually co-invested in a lovely absinthe fountain that we’ve utilized at a couple of parties to provide traditional absinthe service with the serrated spoons, sugar cubes, etc. While a classic absinthe, sugar, & water is a fine thing on occasion, I’d been looking for a really good absinthe cocktail to get the mystical Green Fairy (as it’s been called) more into circulation among my friends. And while there are several well-known drinks that use a dash of absinthe as a finishing ingredient (e.g. Corpse Reviver #2, Sazerac, my own Albert Hofmann Cocktail), I wanted to feature it as a main ingredient and couldn’t find a suitable cocktail that did that. So I invented one. Inspired by a drink called the Sylph at the fine Berkeley restaurant restaurant Downtown, I experimented with combinations involving absinthe, vodka, Cointreau & lemon juice. After much research, that rare & wonderful thing happened where a simple equal balance of 3 strongly-flavored ingredients crystallized in a way that each held each other in check (in a similar way as the Negroni). The strong anise flavor of the absinthe is perfectly counterbalanced by the deep orange notes of the Cointreau and the sharp citrus of the lemon juice. The resulting synergy was surprisingly refreshing and smooth-drinking, and my absinthe cocktail was born:

The Absinthe Triolet

* 1 part absinthe (green for best color)
* 1 part Cointreau
* 1 part lemon juice
* Orange twist for garnish (preferably flamed)

Shake vigorously in a cocktail shaker half full of ice and strain into martini or champagne glasses. To flame the orange twist, squeeze the peel over the filled glass with the orange side out to release the zest while holding a lit match between it and the glass. This makes for a flashy visual effect and adds a nice burnt orange flavor to the drink.

Now a quick note on the name. For this, I turned to my French neighbors who were actually living in Michael & Shannon’s house at the time while they lived in Paris for a year. Over dinner one night, we enjoyed the new drink while I implored their help in coming up with a French name for it, based on the French origin of the Lucid Absinthe and Cointreau I was using. After a couple of tries (and a couple of rounds!), Antoine had an “aha!” moment and presented me with “triolet”, which means “triplet” in French. This seemed ideal because the drink is a perfect triplet of equal parts absinthe, Cointreau & lemon juice, and “triolet” (pronounced “tree-oh-lay”) sounds chic and is easy enough to pronounce in English. So with a nod to Dr. Chambaz for the name, my hope is that the Absinthe Triolet will someday catch on with the general drinking populace as a way for those who aren’t crazy about straight absinthe to enjoy it in a more accessible cocktail. It’s certainly become the preferred way to imbibe absinthe for me and many of my guests. If you agree, spread the word about the Absinthe Triolet to your friends. It’s an easy recipe to remember!

Related posts:

1. The Post-Script
2. The Perfect Cocktail: Corpse Reviver #2

Cucumber and gin are a classic cocktail combination that haven’t gotten the attention they deserve. One good example is Pimm’s #1 cup, a gin-based concoction, which is often combined with some kind of cucumber. We’re fond of both gin and cucumber in our house and one of our favorite local restaurants, “Grasshopper” (now closed and replaced with the equally good Wood Tavern) served a gin and cucumber cocktail they called a “Water Lilly”. Luckily their bartender moved down the street to Pearl. You can probably get her to make one for you. Pearl (and the bartender) are worth a trip regardless of the availability of the Water Lilly.

We also had a great gin-cucumber cocktail at the St. Regis hotel in San Francisco. We forget what they called it, but it was fantastic. It was a combination of gin, cucumber “water” and rosemary-lemon grass simple syrup. We made some tonight and it definitely lived up to our memories…

• 3 parts gin (Boodles is the house gin)
• 1 part cucumber water
• 1 part rosemary-lemongrass simple syrup

Shake over ice and serve up with a slice of cucumber for garnish.

To make the cucumber water, puree a cucumber (or two, which we recommend because you’ll like the result) in a blender or food processor. You should peel the cucumber almost completely. If you want the drink to be bright green then leave a bit of cucumber peel (it doesn’t take much). If you want it pale green then remove all of the peel. Cut the cucumber into large pieces, drop in the food processor with 1/2 teaspooon of salt, and puree until it liquifies. Then strain the result for 30-60 miniutes to get the liquid and discard the solids.

To make the simple syrup, bring a cup of sugar and a cup of water to a gentle boil. Then add a couple of sprigs of rosemary, lightly crushed, and the smashed ends of three stalks of lemongrass. Let the rosemary and lemongrass steep in the simple syrup until it cools. You don’t really want to boil the rosemary or lemongrass…steeping them like a tea will do the trick.

This is a great St. Patrick’s day option. If you make the cucumber water with enough peel the cocktail will definitely be green. And it will taste far better than any Chartreuse-based cocktail or green beer. We expect to see a lot of folks drinking this next March.

Enjoy!

Michael and Shannon

cucumber image by niznoz

Related posts:

1. The Exodus
2. The Post-Script

• 2 parts apple brandy
• 1 part Meyer lemon (really Meyer lemons are the best for cocktails)
• 1 part orange liquor (we like Citronage from Patron)

Shake in a cocktail shaker and serve up, with a twist of lemon. We both agreed this was better than the standard Sidecar.

Enjoy!

Related posts:

1. The Sidecar: I finally get it!
2. The Exodus
3. Lemon Mint