Science Of Drink

It is no secret that I prefer bitter-sweet cocktail. And now, after the great S.I.P. #2, which was devoted to one of the world-famous sour – the Sidecar, I am enthusiastic with bitter cocktail too. But I have not enough realy bitter ingredient in my bar – two bottle of fernet, one amaro and Campari. Two cocktails bitters are no object. Thus I remember that I have Dubonnet – one of the famous quinquina in the world. This bottle was unopened over one year. I open this bottle. It emerged that Dubonnet has no bitter taste. The Dubonnet Rouge has so sweet and spicy taste of muscat fortified wine with microscopic bitter feeling in the finish. But it no stopped me try this stuff in a cocktails.

First probe of mixing with Dubonnet is signature Dubonnet Cocktail. The recipe I found in the Cocktails and Mixed Drinks by Anthony Hogg.

Dubonnet Cocktail

35 ml Dubonnet
35 ml gin
Stir well with a lot of ice. Strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

The Dubonnet Cocktail is too similar to Old Great Martini Cocktail with Dubonnet instead sweet vermouth. Not dry but very pleasant and palatable gin drink. It has main palate of gin botanicals with great little bitter finish with sweet muscat notes. I tested few my gins in this cocktail – Befeater, Bombay Sapphire and Broker’s. IMHO the best result give us Befeater – it has so clear and crisp taste. Also you may zest your Dubonnet Cocktail with lemon for best results or add dash of bitters as Robert Schnakenberg advice in his great book Old Man Drinks (Quirk Books, 2010).

Actually my soul and taste bud wait some different pleasure. And I prepare the Dubonnet Royal Cocktail that was found in Cocktails and Mixed Drinks by Anthony Hogg in next line.

Dubonnet Royal

40 ml Dubonnet
20 gin
2 dash Angostura bitters
2 dash curacao
1 dash pastis
Mix well with ice all ingredients except pastis. Strain into cocktail glass and add one dash pastis on the top. Garnish with maraschino cherry.

Wow! It is great cocktail. It has magnificent taste – rich and complex. This cocktail seems as tastes firework. It is superb cocktail.

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About year ago one my friend presented me a bottle of NARDINI Fernet Amaro. I was intrigue by this black stylish bottle very much. Actually Italian amaro and fernet are one of my favorite local European beverage. Fernet is a strong type of amaro – herbal liqueur with bitter taste. Now I have two bottle of Fernet in my liquor cabinet – the weel-known Fernet Branca and NARDINI Fernet. The B.^LO NARDINI Distilleria a Vapore is famous Italian manufacturer of grappa. This distillery is one of the oldest in Italia. This distillery also produce some kind of traditional Italian liquor – Amaro, Fernet etc. The NARDINI Fernet is very quality and interesting product thus I decide to teste it in Fernet Cocktail.

The very interesting recipe of the Fernet I found at the CocktailDB. The main interest of this recipe is possibility of variation the base spirit. Some time ago I tested the Fernet Cocktail in brandy version. Now I will taste this cocktail with cognac and rye whiskey. It is very interesting for me as I am big fernet fun.

Fernet Cocktail

35 ml cognac or rye whisky
35 ml fernet
1 dash Angostura bitters
2 dashes gum syrup
Stir. Strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon zest.

The Fernet Cocktail with NARDINI Fernet and Hennessy VSOP Cognac is brilliant cocktail with deep bitter-sweet very smooth palate. It is excellent cocktail.

Hereafter I explore this cocktail with rye whiskey. Actually the Fernet cocktail with whiskey is so similar with Manhattan with fernet instead sweet vermouth. The sweetness add with sugar syrup.

I try my authentic rye whiskey – WILD TURKEY Rye and it habitual substitute – canadian whisky (I use cheap Black Velvet). The cocktail with WILD TURKEY is great! The powerfull drink with compose palate of whiskey spicy taste and bitterness of fernet. The cocktail with canadian whisky is so unsophisticated predictably. But it is so interesting drink too. It has bitter-sweet herbal taste of fernet with spicy whisky notes in the finish. No so bad!

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Congratulation! Today we have our second S.I.P. – on-line event for russophone bloggers-inbibirs. The point of this event is in investigation and exploring great classic cocktail. Our S.I.P. #2 devote to Sidecar. The Sidecar Cocktail is great stuff for researching. This great classic cocktail has interesting story, fancy composition and taste, which can to improve the taste of its consumer. The Sidecar is cocktail which has true taste.

For S.I.P.#2 I explore the way of Sidecar from its possible predecessor – the Brandy Crusta Cocktail to modern creature Mandarine Sidecar.

The history of the Sidecar creation is so unclear. According to legend the Sidecar was created during or after World War (circa 1920) in one Paris little bistro for American or French Army capitan who was driven to and from the bar in a motorcycle sidecar, hebce its name. Actually a sidecar was very popular transport among the military at that time. There are two possible places where cocktail was born. First – the legendary Paris American bar Harry and another – The Ritz Hemingway Bar. The Sidecar was first mentioned in print in 1922 into two cocktails books – Cocktails: How to Mix Them by Robert Vermiere and ABC of Mixing Cocktails by Harry MacElhone.

David Embury in his The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks (1948) specify that original Sidecar contained some six or seven ingredients in place of common three. It seems that oroginal Sidecar was so close to old New Orlean cocktail – Brandy Custa. For example the recipe of Brandy Crusta Cocktail from Harry Jonson:

3 OR 4 DASHES OF ORCHARD SYRUP;
1 OR 2 DASHES OF BITTERS (BOKER’S GENUINE ONLY);
4 OR 5 DROP OF LEMON JUICE;
2 DASHES OF MARASCHINO;
3/4 OF THE GLASS FILLED WITH FINE GLASS;
1 WINE-GLASS OF BRANDY (MARTELL).

Stir up well with a spoon, strain it into the glass, dress with a little fruit, and serve.

In Jerry Thomas’es version this cocktail is much closest to modern Sidecar:

3 OR 4 DASHES OF GUM SYRUP.
2 DO. BITTERS (BOGART’S).
1 WINE-GLASS OF BRANDY.
1 OR 2 DASHES OF CURACOA.
A LITTLE OF LEMON JUICE.
A SMALL LUMP OF ICE.

First, mix the ingredients in a small tumbler, then take a fancy red wine-glass, rub a sliced lemon around the rim of the same, and dip it in pulverized white sugar, so that the sugar will adhere to the edge of the glass. Pare half a lemon the same as you would an apple (all in one piece) so that the paring will fit in the wine-glass, as shown in the cut, and strain the crusta from the tumbler into it. Then smile.

Thus first cocktail of the Sidecar exploring is Brandy Crusta. I use recipe from The Savoy Cocktail Book by Harry Craddock:

Brandy Crusta

3 dashes marascino
1 dash Angostura bitters
4 dashes lemon juice
15 ml curacao
45 ml brandy
Stir well and strain into prepared glass with sugar rim. Garnish with a long lemon peel.

The Brandy Crusta Cocktail has so strong and spicy flavor and taste. It is closest to Old-Fashioned with brandy than traditional sour – the Sidecar.

The traditional Sidecar is very simple drink – base spirit (cognac), sweetener – Cointreau and sour agent – lemon juice. It is canonical sour.

Actually for Sidecar you should use real french cognac. The VS cognac is apropriate but VSOP is best choice. I compared all of my cognacs – Hennessy VS and VSOP, Martell VSOP ans Remy Martin VSOP in my Sidecars. First I tested two of common proportions – equal french style and 3:2:2 in Englesh style.

Sidecar (French style)

30 ml cognac
30 ml Cointreau
30 ml fresh lemon juice
Shake with a lot of ice. Strain into cocktail glass with sugar rim.

French style Sidecar is too sour and so tart. It is no my chice. The 3:2:2 ratio is excellent – so good balanced drink. In this ratio all VSOP give good results. But Sidecar with Martell VSOP isa little bit more flavorfull.

And in final I propose to taste some modern Sidecar. The recipe of Mandarine Sidecar I found at the diffordsguide. The adopted recipe is:

Mandarine Sidecar

30 ml Courvoisier V.S.O.P cognac
20 ml Mandarine Napoleon liqueur
20 ml fresh lemon juice
1 dash Monin Pure Cane sugar syrup (65°brix, 2:1 sugar/water)
Shake all ingredients with ice and fine strain into chilled glass with sugar rim (optional). Garnish with a lemon zest.

I use Remy Martin VSOP Cognac and my favorite demerara 2:1 syrup instead Courvoisier and Monin.

It is very balanced cocktail with main palate of friut liqueur with a cognacs hint. It is so interesting sour. Admirable drink.

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This cocktail I found at the Mandarine Napoleon promo-site. Actually I doubt promo-cocktails but in this case it is sounds great.

Mandarine Old-Fashioned

25 ml Mandarine Napoleon liqueur
25 ml premium bourbon
1-2 dash Angostura bitter
a piece of orange peel
Put orange peel and bitter into old-fashioned glass. Add some liqueur and bourbon, add one large ice cube and stir. Then add another liquors and second large ice cube. Stir and serve.

The Mandarine Old-Fashioned is truly magnificient cocktail. I use one of my favorite premium bourbon – Maker’s Mark. The results are great. Strong but extremely smooth taste with great bourbon and fresh citrus palate. Taste and aroma are so complex and delightful. The Mandarine Napoleon liqueur and this cocktail are highly recommended to consume :)

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The Old-Fashioned Cocktail is genuine cocktail. Actually, as Jerry Thomas suppose, cocktail is mix of strong spirit, bitter, sugar and water. Consequently the old-fashioned is the cocktail. Whiskey cocktail. Simple but famous and great.

The Old-Fashioned Cocktail was created in the Pendennis Club in Loisville, Kentucky circa 1890. This cocktail consist of whiskey (bourbon as a rule or rye), cocktails bitter (Angostura is common), sugar and water. The standart recipe and preparation is follows:

Old-Fashioned

1 sugar cube (or 1-2 bsp. of simple syrup)
1-3 dash Angostura bitter
1 tsp. water
50 ml bourbon (or rye whiskey)
Place sugar cube on the bottom of an old-fashioned glass (or pour simple syrup). Soak the sugar cobe with bitters and carefully muddle it. Add some water and stir. Than add some whiskey and stir. Than add two (only two!) large (very, very large!) cubes of ice. Fill the glass with more whiskey and stir. Garnish with a lemon peel.

You may add some dash curacao or Cointreau in your Old-Fashioned Cocktail (optional).

Actually the Old-Fashioned Cocktail is gobsmacked palate-paralysing drink. Absolutely idiosyncratical cocktail. And I love it!

Next great thing about Old-Fashioned Cocktail is the question. To muddle or not to muddle? :) Some barman (DeGroff for example) prefer to muddle some fruits (as a common – piece of orange and maraschino cherry) for yours Old-Fashioned. Some purists deny.

Old-Fashioned (Muddled)

1 sugar cube (or 1 tsp. simple syrup)
1-3 dash Angostura bitter
1 piece of orange
1 maraschino cherry
1 tsp. of water
50 ml bourbon
In the bottom of an old-fashioned glass carefully muddle the sugar cube, bitter, orange slice and cherry with splash of water. Remove the fruit husks. Add the ice and whiskey, stir. Garnish with orange slice and red maraschino cherry.

Yoг may also muddle some pineapple cubes.

The muddled Old-Fashioned is another Old-Fashioned Cocktail. It has interesting and delicious fruit and whiskey taste. It has great look. But it has not the charisma :) or power… But it is delicious, whatever!

Actually sling is old mixed drink which made with strong spirit (like gin), water and sugar. This drink is no so popular today. This mixed drink continue now to its famous version – Singapore Sling.

One of the simplest recipe of Singapore Sling I found in one of my Salvatore Calabrese book. He notice that is not original version, but this recipe is so use.

Singapore Sling

40 ml gin
20 ml cherry-brandy liqueur
20 ml fresh lemon juice
soda
Shake (except soda) and strain into collins glass. Add soda. Garnish with a lemon wedge and red maraschino cherry.

It is so dry cocktail with bitternes of cherry. The taste of this Singapore Sling depend on cherry-brandy. I use cherry-brandy liqueur by BOLS. Also I use famous Cherry Heering Liqueur by Peter Heering with great results.

The “Original” Singapore Sling is more compose drink. This version is average from two recipes from The Essential Bartender’s Guide by Robert Hess and Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails by Ted Haigh with a hint of The Essential Cocktail by Dale Degroff :) .

The Singapore Sling

60 ml gin
20 ml cherry-brandy
10 ml Benedictine
10 ml Cointreau
60 ml unsweetened pineapple juice
20 ml fresh lime juice
2 dash real grenadine
1 dash Angostura bitters
soda (optional)
Shake (except soda) and strain into sling-glass. Add soda (optional). Garnish with an orange wedge and red maraschino cherry.

I use both cherry-brandy – BOLS Cherry and Cherry Heering – with similar results. The taste of this “Original” Singapore Sling depend on composition of Cointreau, Benedictine, cherry-liqueur etc. I use homemade-cold-process-real-pomegranate grenadine for this ultimate cocktail also.

The Singapore Sling has very unusual taste. The complex bitter and herbal palate is unique pleasure. It is cocktail for real gentleman and connoisseur.

This cocktail has interesting composition but veru familiar and annoing name. Great Scottish poet and a lyricist Robert Burns merit bigger respect that “Bobby”.

Dale DeGroff cpecify that Bobby Burns Cocktail was created at one of the great and famous pre-prohibited bar of Amirica – Big Brass Rail (Walrorf) for celebration of Robert Burns Day. This cocktail has so similar composition to Rob Roy Holiday Style.

Bobby Burns

35 ml scotch
35 ml sweet vermouth
8 ml Benedictine
Stir. Cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon twist.

Some sources specify that Drambuie is substitute of Benedictine in this cocktail. I think that is bad idea. If you do not have Benedictine but Drambuie – please try the Rob Roy Holiday Style but not Bobby Burns Cocktail.

The Bobby Burns Cocktail is one of the great cocktail with scotch, actually. It has very smooth, so sweet and aromatic taste.

This simple cocktail is standart woman cocktail as specify many authors. Equal parts of gin and sweet vermouth (It) and some interesting for garnish. My favorite Salvatore “Maestro” Calabrese garnish own Gin & It with a maraschino cherry and orange peel. I think is it optimal choice for this cocktail :)

Gin & It

35 ml sweet vermouth
35 ml gin
Stir. Cocktail glass. Garnish with a red maraschino cherry and orange peel.

The Gin & It Cocktail has good-balanced sweet and dry herbal taste. It is good evening cocktail and not for woman only. Some mixologist (like Dale DeGroff) reccomend to add some drops of Angostura bitter in the Gin & It Cocktail.

Gin & It (Dale DeGroff)

35 ml sweet vermouth
35 ml gin
1 dash Angostura bitter
Stir. Cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange peel.

This version has more complex palate with wide herbal bitternes of Angostura. It is good cocktail for any romantic evening.

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My new passion is scotch. I explore blend scotch meanwhile. I have Johny Walker, Balantines, Famous Grouse an Chivas Regal in my bar. Today I explore the one of the classic whisky cocktail – the Rob Roy.

The Rob Roy (Robert Roy MacGregor) is folk Scottish folk hero, something like English Robin Good. The operetta about him (Rob Roy) was popular at Broadway in 1890s. The Rob Roy Cocktail was created at the old Waldorf Astoria Hotel in this time. It was popularized by famous Scottish whisky distiller Tommy Dewar.

The Rob Roy Cocktail is a Manhattan with scotch instead rye (or bourbon). As Manhattan it has three version – Sweet (common), Dry and Perfect. Today we explore this three versions of the Rob Roy Cocktail.

Rob Roy

35 ml scotch
35 ml sweet vermouth
1 dash Angostura bitters
Stir. Cocktail glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

The proportions of the Rob Roy Cocktail may be variable.

The Rob Roy Cocktail is an excellent cocktail with so sweet complex palate with powerful scotch finish.

Dry Rob Roy

50 ml scotch
20 ml dry vermouth
1 dash Angostura bitters
Stir. Cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon peel or an olive.

The Dry Rob Roy Cocktail has so dry taste with dominant taste of scotch.

Perfect Rob Roy

40 ml scotch
20 ml sweet vermouth
20 ml dry vermouth
1 dash Angostura bitters
Stir. Cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon peel.

The Perfect Rob Roy Cocktail has interesting and good-balanced taste with herbal notes of vermouth and powerful scotch finish. I think that Rob Roy is a great cocktail.

Specially for my Rob Roy Cocktail exploring I get yet one bottle of scotch – Teacher`s Highland Cream. And I explore yet one version of Rob Roy – the Rob Roy Holiday Style, which was found on the CocktailDB.

Rob Roy Holiday Style

50 ml scotch
8 ml sweet vermouth
8 ml dry vermouth
8 ml Drambuie
Stir. Cocktail glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

Actually the Rob Roy Holiday Style is magnificient cocktail. It has very balanced strong and sweet taste with wide whisky palate. I use one of my new bottle – Teacher`s Highland Cream, in result I have very smooth anв delicious cocktail.

This very interesting cocktail was found in the Coctails and Mixed Drinks by Anthony Hogg. Elegant and delicious composition of brandy and Fernet-Branca. Actually, Fernet-Branca is my favorite palatable bitter.

Fernet Cocktail

35 ml brandy
35 ml Fernet-Branca
1 dash Angostura
2 dash rich sugar syrup (2:1)
Stir. Cocktail glass, garnish with a twist of lemon peel.

Awesome cocktail!