Science Of Drink

The MxMo is back! Great! And the scomorokh is back too :) Actually the topic of MxMo August: Brown, Bitter and Stirred is very interesting fo me. This MxMo hosted by Lindsey Johnson from Brown, Bitter and Stirred and thanks for great topic, Lindsey! This about true cocktail (and it is my choice now!) – the mix of aged spirit, bitter and stirred, not shaken! The Connoisseur’s Choice.

I dream about this coctail during long, very long time. But rye is absolutely unavailable in the Ukraine also Peychaud’s bitters. Thanks for God in my way I meet some great people who present me a bottle of great rye – Wild Turkey Rye 101 proof and a bottle of Peychaud`s. Thanks, companeros!

And now I prepare one of my dream-cocktail – the Sazerac. This cocktail was creaded on the 1850-s in the New Orleans. The creation of this cocktail associate with New-Orleans`s pharmacist (and Freemason!) – Antoine Peychaud – the creator of famous bitter. This cocktail is great thing – it include so rare and aromatic ingredients, it has unusual ritual of preparation and it has interesting story.

Sazerac

1 sugar cube
1-2 dash Peychaud`s bitter
1 tsp. water
50 ml rye whiskey
1 bsp. Pernod
Take two rocks glasses. Fill one with ice and soda for chill. In the second glass place sugar cube than add bitter and water. Muddle the sugar and mix all together for dissolving. Than add some cubes of ice and whiskey. Stir. First chiled glass coat with dash of Pernod. Strain the cocktail into this coated with Pernod glass. Serve without ice! Garnish with a lemon peel.

The Sazerac Cocktail has strong and complex flavor and taste. Actually is great strong cocktail with great compose palate and nose.

The theme of MxMo XLVI (February 2010), which hosted at Thinking of Drinking (actually it is a great blog with great name, the name of this blog is (realy!) the description of my life), is Absinthe. Great choice, Sonja!

The absinthe is one of the great alcohol beverage in the world. It has interesting and dramatic story, mystic way and cloud of pseuds. I do not have real absinthe in my bar, actually. Now I has one of the popular imitation of absinthe – italian liqueur caled XENTA Abseta (with real wormwood contetnt as specified) and historic substitute of absinthe – Pernod. Pernod is one of my favorite liquors, some cocktails with Pernod, like Monkey Gland or Gloom Riser are my favorite cocktails.

Usually absithe consumed with a lump of sugar and ice-cold water (Absinthe drip). In this way also consumes Pernod and pastis (for pastis like Ricard sugar is optional).

For this MxMo I prepared two interesting old cocktails with Pernod. First cocktail is famous Chrysanthemum Cocktail, which was found at CocktailDB:

Chrysanthemum Cocktail

30 ml dry vermouth
30 ml Benedictine
15 ml Pernod
Stir. Cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange peel.

The Chrysanthemum Cocktail has unique taste. In the palate are sweet notes, a lot of herbs notes, mint, light honey, star anise… It is awesome cocktail. Actually I was fascinated by Chrysanthemum Cocktail with my first sip.

Also I use in this cocktail XENTA Absenta. The result is not so great, but an interesting too.

If you don`t have the Benedectine in your liquor cabinet you may use in the Chrysanthemum Cocktail sweet vermouth instead Benedictine. The Chrysanthemum Cocktail turn into Duchess Cocktail in this way.

Duchess Cocktail

30 ml sweet vermouth
30 ml dry vermouth
15 ml Pernod
Stir. Cocktail glass.

The Duchess Cocktail has sweet, herbal and anise flavor similar to Chrysanthemum Cocktail. The palate of the Duchess Cocktail is not so rich as Chrysanthemum but so interesting.

My first recipe of Yellow Daisy Cocktail was found in one of my favorite cocktail book – The Cocktails and Mixed Drinks by Anthony Hogg. The cocktail has simply and elegant composition – gin, vermouth and Grand Marnier.

The inventor of Yellow Daisy Cocktail, as Savoy Cocktail Book specified, is Richard William Clark aka Deadwood Dick – quintessential cowboy, Indian fighter, express guard for Black Hills gold shipments and literare hero.

Yellow Daisy (Anthony Hogg)

40 ml gin
20 ml vermouth dry
20 ml Grand Marnier
Stir. Cocktail glass.

Also I try another recipe of Yellow Daisy Cocktail which was found on Cocktail DB.

Yellow Daisy (Cocktail DB)

45 ml gin
15 ml vermourh dry
7 ml Grand Marnier
7 ml pastis
Stir. Cocktail glass, garnish with a cherry.

I use Bombay Sapphire London Dry Gin (my best gin, undoubtedly), Cinzano Extra Dry vermouth, Grand Marnier and Pernod.

This cocktails are different. Both cocktails are strong, sweet and herbal. Both cocktails has admirable light sushine yellow color.

The Anthony Hogg`s version has strong and sweet taste with orange palate of Grand Marnier. The CocktailDB`s version has comples herbal flavor with strong anise palate.

Also I tested the old version of this cocktail from Savoy Cocktail Book:

Yellow Daisy (Savoy)

30 ml gin
30 ml vermouth dry
15 ml Grand Marnier
few drop absinthe (Pernod)
Shake. Cocktail glass.

Actually I use Pernod instead absinthe. This cocktail has strong, sweet and herbal taste too. The Yellow Daisy Cocktail is admirable drink for long winter evening.