Cocktail Hour - The White Mexican

Cocktail Hour is back! And we've found something a little special to alleviate those autumn blues.

The White Mexican is essentially a latin riff on the classic White Russian - substitute the Kaluha for Patron Coffee Tequilla and you have it.

However, a vodka shortage at New Utility HQ meant that we had to get a little creative and use dark rum rather than usual Russian staple.

This occasioned heated, and slightly drunken, debate with my housemate as to whether this forced substitution warranted a complete name change.

Technically a White Mexican should constitute Coffee Tequilla, Vodka and Cream, after a few tastings we agreed that the detour via Havana gave the finished article a more rounded sweeter flavour, with just enough bite coming through the tequila.

After much back-and-forth, and some quite terrible potential monikers being bandied about, the worst of which were Fidel's White Mexican and, my favourite, The Geographically Challenged Russian, we reached rather an impasse..

So if anyone has any ideas do let me know!

Anyway, should you feel the urge to mix one proceed as follows:

• 60ml of Patron (coffee tequila), 
• 30ml of Havana Club dark rum
• 60ml cream, 
• top up with milk
• chocolate sprinkles to garnish

In a rocks glass filled with ice add the Patron, rum and cream over ice. Top up with milk if desired.

If there are ladies to impress push the boat out be adding a few chocolate sprinkles.

Be warned however, these things slip down very quickly and do rather sneak up on the unsuspecting drinker. Enjoy!

Cocktail Hour - The Kentucky Mule

I know, my obsession with ginger and bourbon continues...

They weren't both for me. Honest.

A Moscow Mule is made with ginger ale and vodka, so unsurprisingly the Kentucky variant is a mix of bourbon and ginger ale. This is often confused with a Mark n' Stormy, made with ginger beer. The clue is in the name...

Just to further cloud the issue, I've heard this cocktail called a Kentucky Gentleman, however I'm reliably informed that this moniker should apply only to brandy based versions.

I used Makers Mark again for this, which is a trifle sweet, so to lift things a bit I fell back on Angostura Bitters.
In addition I opted a large twist of lemon rind, squeezed/rubbed and thrown in - the natural oils in the rind combine with the ginger and bitters to give a spicy counterpoint to the sweet vanilla notes of the bourbon.
For a bit of extra freshness a mint garnish finishes things off nicely, but is not essential.

What you'll need:

• 60ml Makers Mark
• Ginger Ale
• Twist, lemon rind.
• Liberal dash, Angostura Bitters
• Ice
• Highball glass
• Mint, to garnish

Procedure:

• Throw a few ice cubes in to a highball glass
• Add a dash of bitters and then the bourbon
• Rub the lemon rind over the glass and put in
• Top with ginger ale
• Finish things off with a couple of mint leaves.

I don't really go in for this Valentine's Day stuff & nonsense, particularly when it comes to making pink frothy cocktails. However, I'm sure your dearly beloved / civil life partner will appreciate a Kentucky Mule or two before dinner this evening.

Failing that it ought to help numb the pain of seeing lots of nauseating couples swanning about like lovestruck teenagers.

With thanks to Hanna and Cathrine for acting as tasters. Much like the mint, female Scandinavian scientists are not strictly essential, but they're entertaining and do make proceedings look good.

(Despite slightly questionable big cat themed sock / jumper combinations.)

Cheers!

Cocktail Hour - The Gin-ess...

More Gin & Beer Based Adventures

Copenhagens' The Bird & The Church Key is known for its signature cocktail the Gin & Beer (reviewed here.)

I popped back recently for a few post 'flu medicinal gins and a chat with the manager Christian. He is always experimenting - fruits of his recent labours include a Guinness based riff on the Gin & Beer.

The use of stout adds a wonderful malty richness and the spicy liquorice notes to the finish - the latter coming from the botanicals used in Bulldog gin - complement the Guinness nicely. 

However, I missed the zestiness of the original fruit beer based version. It's worth mentioning though that Christian has also made a variant with No.3 Gin which gives the finished article a sharper profile.

This cocktail has not made it on to the menu yet - it's still a work in progress. I'd love to see Christian experiment with different stouts, though I suppose he'd have to re-name the drink!

If you're tempted to make your own assemble the following:

1. 2cl Bulldog Gin.
2. 3cl Cherry Heering.
3. Bottle, Guinness. (The Bird have it on draught.)
4. Ice.
5. Large brandy glass.
6. Cocktail shaker.

Pour a dash of Guinness in to the brandy glass, add ice. Give the gin, Cherry Heering a quick jolt in a shaker. Strain in to the glass and top with the rest of the beer. Simple.

Better yet, if you're in Copenhagen pop in to The Bird for a swift one.

Cocktail Hour - Dark Rum Sour

To Cuba via South America this week, all in the name of booze.

Those of you who've read the previous cocktail columns will know that I have something of an obsession with sours. I've tried various ones over the years, but never with rum.

Purely to help the digestion you understand...

To that end I spent a while researching recipes and came up with a rum based take on a Pisco Sour. (Pisco is a South American grape brandy produced in Peru and Chile - something to add to the tasting list if I can find it.)

I used a 7 year old Havana Club, simply because that's what I currently have in the drinks cabinet, but I suspect this cocktail would work really well with a darker navy rum or Goslings just to really give the sweet and sour contrast a kick.

Egg white, deliberately missed by some bartenders in sours, adds a smoother texture to the finished cocktail so I urge you not to skip it.

The Angostura Bitters gives things a nice lift, its medicinal botanicals technically making this sour an aperitif - a perfect pre dinner snifter.

It's just a pity we don't get to enjoy any of that Cuban sunshine in Denmark...

Ingredients & Equipment:

• 60ml dark rum
• 30ml lime juice
• 20ml simple syrup
• 1 egg white
• 2 dashes, Angostura Bitters
• Ice
• Cocktail shaker
• Rocks glass, cooled (or old fashioned glass, if you have one)

Procedure

• Dry shake the egg white with the rum, lime juice and simple syrup (shaking egg white without ice properly emulsifies the ingredients before adding ice and re-shaking). 
• Shake vigorously. Add ice and re-shake
• Shake a couple of dashes of bitters in to the cooled rocks glass, over ice if you like
• Pour contents of shaker in to the glass
• Garnish with a little mint

Bottoms up! (This cocktail is quite bracing, so I suggest sitting before consuming. Definitely don't attempt to fashion a coherent blog post.)

Cocktail Hour

Mark N' Stormy

A bourbon based riff on the classic Dark N' Stormy this week. (Traditionally a hot weather highball, it seems rather fitting given the endless stormy weather.)

Traditionally made with Goslings Rum, the swap for bourbon, in this case Makers Mark, works just as well. The sweetish vanilla notes of the bourbon complement the spiciness of the ginger beer. I find Old Jamaica perfect here, but feel free to experiment with different types.

Depending on the spiciness vs sweetness of the ginger beer used you can either simply garnish with a lime wedge or take the trouble to squeeze 20ml of fresh juice.
Old Jamaica is quite fiery so I have chosen to former, giving the wedge a bit of a squeeze as throw it in.

Equipment & Ingredients

60ml Makers Mark
Old Jamaica Ginger Beer
Lime wedge
Highball glass
Ice

Procedure

Chuck a few ice cubes in the highball glass
Pour over the ginger beer
Top with the bourbon
Squeeze the lime wedge over the glass a little and add.

Perfect for dreaming of warm Bermudian beaches on a dreary winters evening.

Cocktail Hour

Quince Two Times..

It seems fitting that my last post before the Christmas hiatus is booze related.

As observant readers will already know I recently ended up with rather a lot of home-made quince cordial (after a rather less than successful attempt at making jelly.)

As nice as cordial is mixed with water, the mind naturally drifted to how I might more pleasantly imbibe some of this blasted stuff. Cocktails, that's how.
After much experimentation (well, a pleasant gin-soaked afternoon) I came up with the following:-

The Quince Regent.

This first cocktail is a variant of last week's Gin Fizz. I simply swapped the simple syrup for the quince cordial. Taste wise a hit of aromatic quince gives way to a very zesty finish, the soda water making for a refreshing winter bracer. 

Essentially you end up a rather enjoyable gin & quince laced lemonade - giving you a deceptively strong highball that it's all to easy to gulp down quickly!

Ingredients & Equipment:

• 40ml Dry Gin
• 20ml Quince Cordial
• 20ml Lemon Juice
• Bottle, Fever Tree Soda Water
• Lemon wedge, to garnish
• Highball glass
• Cocktail Shaker
• Ice

Procedure:

• Add the gin, cordial and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker and, well, shake.
• Pour over ice in to a highball glass.
• Top with the soda water and stir.
• Garnish with the lemon wedge

The Quinclet.

Essentially the bastard child of a pink gin and a Gimlet this one. Despite the fact it is inescapably pink, this drink will put hairs on your chest. Don't let anyone tell you different.

The quince gives the finished article a more rounded flavour than a straight gimlet, however the lime juice and bitters lend a pleasing bite to the finish.

Ingredients & Equipment:

40ml Dry Gin

20ml Quince Cordial

20ml Lime juice

Liberal dash, Angostura Bitters

Lime zest, to garnish

Cocktail shaker

Ice 

Martini glass, chilled

Procedure:

Pour a couple of drops of bitters in to the martini glass.

Give the gin, cordial and lemon juice a jolt in a shaker with a couple of ice cubes.

Strain in to the martini glass and garnish with a strip of lime zest.

Sit down before drinking!

I am now retreating to darkest rural Sweden for the duration of the Festivities, but will be back with more drink and fashion related ramblings in the New Year. 

I wish you all a very merry Christmas. Tinkerty-tonk!

Cocktail Hour

Sloe Gin Fizz

Amidst the countless Egg-nog recipes that pop up when researching festive cocktail options one alternative that caught my eye was the Sloe Gin Fizz.

The Gin Fizz, essentially a sour with added soda water, dates all the way back to the 1862 tome How To Mix Your Drinks by Jerry Thomas. It is important to distinguish between a Gin Fizz and a Tom Collins - the former is made with dry gin, the latter with sweeter Old Tom gin. 

If we're being strict about things a gin fizz should not be served with ice, whereas a Tom Collins is poured over rocks. I've ignored that here. 

You should really use a soda syphon too, if you don't have one just pour the soda vigorously to create lots of bubbles.

My dear old mother makes a batch of sloe gin every autumn, bottles of which are generously donated to yours truly.

I normally drink it straight or on the rocks, with only a single ice cube. But sloe gin also makes for a fantastic cocktail ingredient. In this case it turns a refreshing summer high-ball in to a pleasing winter treat.

I've not tried the commercially available sloe gins, though I suspect they are rather less sweet than the family home brew. I have upped the lemon juice content accordingly. If using shop bought gin use 10cl less lemon juice. I've also sharpened things up with a jolt of Tanquary, but feel free to experiment.

Ingredients / Equpment

• 30cl Tanquary Gin
• 30cl Sloe Gin
• 30cl Simple Syrup
• 30cl Lemon Juice
• Bottle, Fever Tree Soda water
• Cocktail shaker
• High-ball glass
• Ice
• Lemon wedge to garnish

Procedure

• Mix the gins, lemon juice and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker
• Fill a high-ball glass with ice and pour over contents
• Top up with soda water
• Stir and serve with the lemon wedge

As ever, if anyone has any variants of this recipe that might be of interest do let me know.

Cheers chaps!

Cocktail Hour

A Short History of the Old Fashioned.

This classic bourbon based cocktail has seen something of a revival in recent years. A good thing in our view.

Paul Henreid & Bette Davis being served  an Old Fashioned in Now, Voyager (1942)

The Old Fashioned goes back a while.

The mixture of spirits, water, sugar and bitters originally came in to being as a morning bracer circa 1800. Often referred to as a Bittered Sling, gin, rum, bourbon or whiskey were freely interchanged. One argument is that spirits at the time were not of as high a quality as today, thus ways were found to flavour or sweeten them.
The addition of bitters, with its medicinal botanicals, technically makes the Old Fashioned an aperitif, served before a meal to stimulate the appetite. We're fond of a drink here at NU, however, hitting the hard stuff prior to our morning Weetabix is a bit much!

It is generally accepted that the Old Fashioned proper was invented around 1881 in Kentucky by the barman at The Pendennis Club in honour of a Colonel Pepper.

There are a multitude of differing recipes out there, specifying all sorts of bells and whistles. Ignore them.
The best cocktails are classics for a reason - they have been kept simple. Resist the urge to garnish with large wedges of fruit, cherries and so forth. You are not making a fruit salad.

Friday is here at last!

Ingredients / Equipment:

• 60ml Bourbon or Rye
• 20ml Simple Syrup*
• Dash, Angostura Bitters
• Strip of orange zest
• I large ice cube*
• Old Fashioned glass*

Procedure:

• Pour the simple syrup in to the glass. 
• Add the bitters
• Pour in the bourbon 
• Rub the strip of orange zest over the glass to release the oils and throw in
• Muddle contents
• Add ice cube.

A word on sugar - too many recipes specify using a sugar cube. If you do so make sure you work the sugar in to a syrup with a little water before you add the spirits. If not you'll end up with an unsweetened drink and a load of undissolved sugary clag at the bottom of your glass.
Trust us, we've been experimenting with this!

Some recipes suggest using orange bitters, this supposedly works better with a rye based Old Fashioned, though we have not tried this yet. One school of thought holds that one should use rye only, the argument being that most modern bourbons are sweet enough.

Rye whiskey is a little difficult to get hold of now, but once some is procured we shall further our researches.+

If anyone has experimented further please do report in your findings.

Bottoms up!

*For a Simple Syrup recipe see our post on The Gimlet.
*Not sure what came first, the glass or the cocktail. Any small tumbler or rocks glass will do.
*Don't over do the ice, why dilute all that bourbon?
+If you do want to experiment, but can't find a true rye whiskey, have a go with Canadian Club as it has a high rye content.

Cocktail Hour

The Gin Sour.

Continuing on last week's sour theme, today we discuss the Gin Sour. A very traditional cocktail, popular before Prohibition, this cocktail's precise history is uncertain. It was mentioned as far back as 1862 in Jerry "The Professor" Thomas' The Bar-Tender's Guide.

Again, it is worth mentioning that most modern recipes skip the egg white. Presumably over 'elf & safety concerns, but I urge you not to. The addition of egg white makes for a much smoother cocktail.

The original used soda water in the simple syrup, to my mind making the cocktail half Gin Fizz half Sour. The recipe here uses normal simple syrup.

Traditionally, gin sours were made with Old Tom gin - a sweeter style of gin popular in the 18th century and one that is making rather a comeback today. Fear not if you don't have it, one of the more botanical gins like Hendricks will work just as well.

Ingredients:

50ml Gin

25ml Lemon Juice

15ml Simple Syrup

egg white (I normally use 1 egg white for 2 cocktails)

Lemon wedge to garnish.

Equipment:

Shaker

Short glass, chilled

Procedure:

Dry shake the egg white, gin, lemon juice and syrup.

Add 2 cubes of ice and shake hard.

Strain over ice in to a short glass

Garnish with a lemon wedge & serve

Chin chin!

Cocktail Hour

The Bourbon Sour

After the recent glut of Gin based beverages it's time to surprise our livers with another favourite spirit of mine - bourbon. I bow to no man in my appreciation of sour cocktails, and the Bourbon Sour is an absolute favourite.

The rather lovely barmaid at Ruby swears by Four Roses, however as I have Makers Mark at home that's what I'm using. The sweetness of the bourbon, particularly the vanilla note to Makers Mark, offsets the sharpness of the citrus perfectly.

Some sour recipes skip the egg white. I would urge you not to - it adds an extra smoothness to the finished article and is worth the minimal faff of separating an egg.

Ingredients:

1. 50ml Makers Mark
2. 30ml lemon juice
3. 15ml simple syrup
4. 1 egg white
5. ice
6. lemon wedge

Equipment:

1. shaker
2. short glass

Procedure:

1. Dry shake the egg white first. (This improves the texture.)
2. Add the lemon juice, bourbon, syrup and a couple of ice cubes.
3. Shake well.
4. Strain over ice in to a short glass.
5. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

Bottoms up chaps! Enjoy.

Cocktail Hour

Gin & Beer @ The Bird & The Churchkey.

Another gin based cocktail this week, and a rather unusual one at that.

As an Englishman gin and beer both are dear to the heart. So the stiff upper lip quivered with excitement on finding out one of Copenhagen's newest bars, The Bird & The Churchkey, had combined the two in their signature cocktail.

Unsurprising then that the founding principle of The Bird is to provide excellent gin and beer. As such it is stocked with over 60 gins, and sports some 40 craft beers. At last count there were 20 types of gin & tonic gracing the menu.

The bar itself resembles a pleasantly down at heel 1930's London gin palace. Located on Gammel Strand, staggering distance from New Utility HQ, it was the work of a moment to nip round the corner to meet up with the The Bird's manager, Christian Tønnesen, for a re-tasting. (I've had this cocktail before but was too over-refreshed to take notes.)

First mixed by a barman at Cocks & Cows (a Copenhagen burger bar whose premises The Bird took over. Both are owned by Nord Gruppen), the original Gin & Beer used garden variety Kronenberg and dry gin. In addition to tweaking the quantities, Christian switched the cooking lager for Franziskaner Hefe-Weizer, a fruity German wheat beer.

For the gin he plumbed for Bulldog - with a very contemporary un-gin-like flavour profile, it is distilled using juniper, dragon eye (a relative of the lychee), poppy seed and other botanicals. A profile, Christian argues, more suited for use in cocktails.

Assemble the following:

1. 2cl Bulldog Gin.
2. 3cl Cherry Heering.
3. 1cl Simple syrup.
4. 2cl Freshly squeezed lemon juice
5. Bottle, Franziskaner Beer. (The Bird have it on draught.)
6. Ice.
7. Large brandy glass.
8. Cocktail shaker.

Pour a dash of the beer and the syrup in to the brandy glass, add ice. Give the gin, Cherry Heering and lemon juice a jolt in a shaker. Strain in to the glass and top with the rest of the beer.

In taste the end result is reminiscent of a strong Belgian fruit beer crossed with a zesty American pale ale. Initially the sweetness of the wheat beer and Cherry Heering are to the fore, with pleasingly sharp lemon & spicy liquorice notes to the finish - the latter coming from the botanicals used in Bulldog gin.

I urge those who love their gin and beer to patronise The Bird & The Churchkey.
An excellent establishment, it is staffed by people with a clear love for what they do. Unusually for Copenhagen the service is very friendly too.
I was particularly impressed that Christian crushes cucumbers each morning to make ice cubes of the juice. Detail is all.

Other recent liquid highlights include a Gabriel Boudier Saffron Gin G&T and a French gin, the name of which I was too squiffy to write down, garnished with grapes.

The Bird's liver threatening proximity means that, if I have not descended in to a gin soaked spiral of vice and destitution, I am sure to feature more from them soon. You can find out more here.

If anyone knows of any more beer based cocktails do get in touch.

Cocktail Hour - The Gimlet

A short history of the Gimlet.

Made with gin and lime, this cocktail is simplicity itself and a firm favourite of mine.

Named after a tool for boring small holes, or possibly Royal Navy surgeon Admiral Sir Thomas Gimlette, it is generally accepted that the Gimlet began life at sea, sailors needing the lime to prevent scurvy. Presumably the gin was added to tide over thirsty matlows till the issue of their daily rum ration. 
It's a wonder that us Brits ever sobered up long enough to conquer a third of the known world!

Gimlets are traditionally made with Rose's Lime Juice. Lauchlan Rose began importing limes from the Caribbean in the 1860s and, patented by him in 1867, the cordial acted as an alcohol free preservative for lime juice on long voyages.
The description in Raymond Chandler's 1953 novel The Long Goodbye states that "a real gimlet is half gin and half Rose's Lime Juice and nothing else."
This mix is very sweet - the norm now is a less teeth threatening 2 parts gin to 1 of cordial.

A true classic. With the growing popularity of gin the humble Gimlet is making a comeback.

There's a school of thought that dispenses with cordial in favour of a mix of fresh lime juice and bar syrup*. I must admit to preferring the slightly sharper flavour this gives. Whether this is still a proper Gimlet or not is open to debate.
Apparently this more modern variant is a bastard child of the original and a Giblet - made with three parts gin to one part lime juice, shaken, and topped off with soda.

I would suggest experimenting with both types, though make sure you have a comfortable chair to hand - a chum of mine once quipped that drinking a Gimlet was akin to "receiving a soft punch to the head." They are rather bracing...

Ingredients:

1. 50ml Gin - a dry gin such as Tanqueray or Gordon's is ideal.*
2. 25ml Rose's Lime Cordial

OR

1. 50ml Gin
2. 20ml simple syrup
3. 20ml fresh lime juice

Procedure:

1. Pour the gin in to a cocktail shaker filled with ice
2. Add cordial (or fresh juice & syrup)
3. Shake well and strain in to a chilled martini glass
4. Serve with a twist of lime

If you're interested in finding out more on classic cocktails Tobias Steed & Ben Reed's Hollywood Cocktails is an illuminating read. Also worth a look is The Institute For Alcoholic Experimentation. A fantastic cocktail blog, written by another chum of mine, Clayton Hartley, it is a mine of information on all things booze related.

More cocktails to follow next weekend.

*Simple Syrup, a barman's staple, is a doddle to make. Take 1 part sugar and 1 part water. In a small saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil; simmer until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Can be refrigerated in a glass jar and kept for 1 month. Feel free to experiment with darker sugars like muscovado or demerara to enhance the flavour - this will also depend on what cocktails you want the syrup for. I find that golden castor works well for Gimlets. You don't want to overpower the sharpness of the limes or have it look too cloudy.

To make a Rich Simple Syrup just up the sugar ratio.

*Gin can also be substituted for vodka. This, in my view, is not a proper Gimlet and therefore will not be discussed here.