Science Of Drink

The subject of MxMo LII is extremely clear and so close to me. The subject is Forgotten Cocktail. The author of this perfect theme and host of MxMo LII is Dennis from Rock & Rye blog. Actually exploring of forgotten cocktails are the very core of my hobby and a lot of cocktails at my blog is rare, classic or forgotten. For this MxMo I propose to recall one rare, vintage cocktail – The Jupiter Cocktail.

I thank Ted Haigh aka Dr. Cocktail for my familiarity with Jupiter Cocktail. I found it at CocktailDB first time and recall it with Tad’s great book Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails over again.

The creator of this cocktail and its story are unknown. The Jupiter Cocktail was first mentioned in Harry McElhon’s ABC of Mixing Cocktails (1922). This cocktail is so rare occasion to use on of my favotite liqueur – Parfait Amour.

Jupiter Cocktail

45 ml gin
20 ml dry vermouth
5 ml Parfait Amor liqueur
5 ml fresh orange juice
Shake. Strain into cocktail glass.

The properly prepared Jupiter Cocktail has interesting light grey ashes color. This cocktail has thin balance. I test all of my three liqueurs in this cocktail. Use quality gin, as Bombay Sapphire for example, in this cocktail for best result.

The Jupiter Cocktail with DK Parfait Amour has so strange artificial pink color. It is vital defect as for me. The taste is so interesring, it is so dry cocktail with vanilla and floral finish. Cocktails with BOLS Parfait Amour and MB Parfait Amour has great due look. The cocktail with BOLS is very dry. Great results in this cocktail I obtain with MB liqueur. The Jupiter Cocktail with MB Parfait Amour liqueur is great, very interesting drink. It has dry taste with sophisticated fresh vanilla and floral palate, it is cocktail for real adept.

[Read more →]

The theme of this MxMo LI (fifty one – if you find difficulty in understanding Roman numerals as your humble narrator) is extremely gentle and large. And I must to thank our dear hoster – Doug Winship from one of the great cocktails blog in my opinion – The Pegu Blog. The lime is one of the key bar-fruit. Limes keep company numerous stuffs – Rum, Tequila, Gin, Vodka… Lime is a garnish; lime is a juice (sour-agent). We use lime in wide range of cocktails – from girlish pink Cosmos to geek’s Pegu. Thus we have a lot of alternative.

But for me, actually, this MxMo is rare chance to use one of the most useless bottle in my liquor cabinet – the lime liqueur. This pastel green liqueur has smooth aroma of lime and lemon peel. The palate is sweet and citrus. This stuff was produced by Marie Brizard, as I understand, this liqueur no longer manufactured.

I decide to explore two simple cocktails with this lime liqueur for this MxMo. Both of these contains double of lime – lime liqueur and fresh lime juice.

First cocktail – the Limey – was founded in the Russian issue of M. Jackson’s Pocked Bar Book. The recipe sounds a little disappoint but cocktail is not:

Limey

30 ml light rum
20 ml lime liqueur
10 ml triple sec
10 ml fresh lime juice
Blend all ingredients with a 3 oz crushed ice until smooth. Serve in the champagne saucer and garnish with a lime wheel.

Actually the Limey Cocktail is no bad drink with light mood. It has bright rum palate (I use my favorite light rum in this cocktail – Havana Club Anejo Blanco) with refreshing citrus notes. I think that is good choice for last summer evening.

My second cocktail with lime liqueur is Lime Daiquiri – one of the four (!!!) cocktails with this liqueur on CocktailDB.

Lime Daiquiri

45 ml white rum
15 ml lime liqueur
15 ml fresh lime juice
Shake all ingredients in a shaker with a lot of ice. Strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Actually the Lime Daiquiri is just Daiquiri with little bit more of lime in the taste. In this cocktail works well Bacardi Cartablanca which has light and fruit taste. This cocktail has so strong and sour taste with a little lime bitterness in aftertaste.

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.

This MxMo hoster is Mike at Hobson’s Choice. He propose so interesting and so wide theme for this MxMo – Punch. I think that any so big cocktail with many ingredients is appropriate. Some times ago I found one interesting mixed drink in one of my cocktail book – Imbibe! by D. Wondrich. It is Gin Punch. This old and rare cocktail come into my notice with one uncommon ingredient – the Holland Gin. The recipe from Imbibe! by D. Wondrich looks like that:

1 TABLE-SPOONFUL OF RASPBERRY SYRUP
2 TABLE-SPOONFUL OF POWDERED SUGAR
1 WINE GLASS [2 oz] OF WATER
1 1/2 WINE GLASS [3 oz] OF HOLLAND GIN
[JUICE OF] 1/2 SMALL-SIZED LEMON
2 DASHES MARASCHINO
2 SLICES OF ORANGE
1 PIECE OF PINEAPPLE

Fill the tumbler with shaved ice.
Shake well, and ornament the top with berries in season.
Sip through a glass tube or straw.

My first interpretation of this recipe include dutch gin (genever, geneva) – Jonge Bols Graanjenever (or Plymouth Gin, or London Dry Gin as D. Wondrich specified). I use berry grenadine by Routin instead raspberry syrup. I decrease a quntity of sugar for 2 little bar-spoon and use 1 oz of fresh-pressed lemon juice:

Gin Punch

15 ml raspberry syrup
2 tsp. sugar powder
60 ml water
90 ml Holland gin (genever) / Plymouth gin / London dry gin
30 ml fresh pressed lemon juice
2 dash maraschino liqueur
2 slices of orange
1 piece of pineapple
a few berries
Shake all ingredients (except fruits) with a lot of ice. Pour into tumbler with shaved or crushed ice and garnish with fruit and berries. Serve with a straw.

The Gin Punch in this version is admirable drink. It has very smooth sweet and sour taste with berry and fruit palate. The best results I obtain with genever and Plymouth gin. This mixed drink is so similar to Fraises Fizz.

Also I try version with raspberry syrup. In original version the Gin Punch is amazing drink. It has very interesting taste with main palate of gin with pleasant raspberry note. It is not so sweet as version with berry grenadine. It is good-balanced light and refreshing drink.

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.

This MxMo (hosted by Frederic & company at Cocktail Virgin Slut has very interesting theme – tea. Tea, as it strikes me, is not widespread ingredients of cocktail. I know a few cocktail with tea but never prepare or taste they. But I like tea and like cocktails and then participate!

Actually I am a big fan of tea, but only one kind of tea – I love strong, sweet and hot black tea – I love russian tea (without lemon ;) ). This is my method of making the tea:

How make the tea like a kiss (russian method): Please use only best quality black whole leaf tea. Please use thin-walled porcelain teapot. Take a teaspoonful of tea per one cup of tea (200 ml). Give a swill teapot with boiling water (and warm up). Then put tea in the teapot and warm up during half of minute. Then pour over tea boiling water (half of teapot), close teapot and cover the teapot with linen towel. Wait 3 minutes and add boiling water for full teapot. Wait 3-5 minutes. You may see white foam on the surface of tea if you make all right. This foam is significative of tea quality and proper making. The properly making tea must be like a kiss – strong, sweet, hot. I use that sort of tea for this cocktail:

English Cobbler

15 ml fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. sugar
30 ml strong tea
60 ml Jamaica rum
Build. Serve in highball glass with crushed ice. Garnish with berry. Serve with straws.

It is my first cobbler. Actually cobbler garnish with berry – something like blackberry and raspberry, but I garnish my first cobbler with another berry – cape gooseberry :)

The English Cobbler is interesting cocktail. It has so strong and a little bit tart taste with great rum palate. I use two my rums in this cocktail – sweet and aromatic cuban rum Varadero Oro 5 Anos and awesome Demerara rum – rich, smooth and complex El Dorado 15 y.o. Both cocktails are admiable! I can make the next conclusion – good rums with good tea is good idea :)

This month MxMo hosted on Beers in the Shower. The author of this blog announce theme so interesting, but extremely elusive for me. I think “Money Drinks” is like “worth the money” drinks or “make the money” drinks… I hope I have right understanding. For this MxMo I explore one of my favorite “for my guest” cocktail – Cosmopolitan. The Cosmopolitan Cocktail is very popular modern cocktail. It has so many fans and it is a TV-star. It is really one of the most popular cocktail worldwide.

The story of this cocktail is relatively unclear, you may read some of it here (wiki) or here (webtender). My favorite Dale DeGroff in The Craft of the Cocktail and The Essential Cocktails wrote that author of Cosmopolitan is Cheryl Cook. Also he associate the Cosmopolitan with Ocean Spray cooperative and its cranberry juice.

Now we have many recipes of Cosmopolitan. The Cosmopolitan is father of big “cosmo”-family (like margarita or martini). I think that Cosmopolitan consist of vodka as main alcohol, Cointreau as sweetener, cranberry and lime juices. Optional ingredients are orange bitter, simple syrup or lime syrup. Generalized recipe of Cosmopolitan therefore is:

Cosmopolitan

30-45 ml vodka (or citrus vodka)
7-25 ml Cointreau
2 dash – 28 ml cranberry juice
5-13 ml fresh pressed lime juice
optional:
0-2 dash orange bitters
0-8 ml simple syrup
0-5 ml lime syrup
Shake all ingredients in ice-filled shaker and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a orange twist (spiral) or flamed orange peel or lime wedge (or wheel) or lime zest.

I tested eleven version of Cosmopolitan which was found in different sources (like blogs, sites, books etc) and at different times. You may find all recipes in this .pdf files. You may organize yours own “Great Cosmo Roundup” with this simple and clear table :)

Cosmopolitan.PDF

This is results of my “Great Science of Drink Cosmopolitan Roundup”. It begin with my first Cosmopolitan, I do not remember a source of this version.

1. Cosmopolitan (Unknown version) – so strong cocktail with elegant citrus taste;

2. Cosmopolitan (Chris Doig – Brilliant Cocktails) – this version has medium strength and sour-sweet very orange taste, good choice for novice;

3. Cosmopolitan (Jay Hapburn – Oh, gosh! ) – aromatic version of Cosmopolitan, has rich aroma and taste;

4. Cosmopolitan (Dale DeGroff – The King of Cocktails ) – it is well-balanced version with medium strength and delicate citrus taste, this recipe has one lack – too much of the cranberry juice. This is good for novice, not for adept :) ;

5. Cosmopolitan (cocktailtimes.com) – this version has very indistinct taste;

6. Cosmopolitan (Davide Wondrich — quintessence (Esquire Drink Database)) -
it is very good version, it has smooth aromatic and citrus sour-sweet taste, but please omit sugar rim – I think it is joke;

7. Cosmopolitan (Gary Regan (The Joy of Mixology, 2003) (from CocktailDB) – strong and sweet cocktail (Kamikaze :) ) with cranberry juice as dye-stuff, excellent drink;

8. Cosmopolitan (Time Out (wiki.webtender.com)) – sophisticated recipe but mediocre results;

9. Cosmopolitan (Salvatore Calabrese – The Maestro – (from book Classic Cocktails)) – so strong and tempered version;

10. Cosmopolitan (IBA) – light sweet cocktail, novice only;

11. Cosmopolitan (cointreau.com) – strong, sweet and citrus cocktail.

Some tips for your Ultimate Cosmopolitan:

- use good quality vodka (pure or citrus-flavored depend upon you taste, both variants work well in Cosmopolitan)

- use Cointreau (not cheap triple sec), it is good choice for you fresh and citrus Cosmo;

- use good and expensive cranberry juice (and omit the recipe with high amount of cranberry juice, if it possible);

- use fresh ripe limes for yours fresh pressed lime juice, DO NOT use preserved lime juice or something like that. You may add some simple syrup for preferable balance of sour-sweet. Omit lime syrup;

- you can use orange bitter for high aromatic cocktail, please add bitters responsibly ;) ;

- in my humble opinion, most appropriate garnish for Cosmopolitan cocktail is orange zest. I use orange zest spiral for strong version (with high Cointreau content) and flamed orange peel for the others. Flamed orange peel is real show, it is real Cosmo-mood. For flamed orange peel you may:

1. Cut small piece of orange peel. Take this piece of orsnge peel in one hand and a match in other. Strike a match as you see on foto :)

2. Heat the surface of peel with a flame of match through few seconds.

3. Press on peel for release of essential oil.

I can resume that Cosmopolitan cocktail is awesome drink. It has right name, good taste, good looks and good mood. It is acceptable as for cocktail novice as adept. When made correctly, it is a brilliant drink.

This MxMo XLI “Vodka Is Your Friend” dedicate to one of my favorite strong alcoholic beverage – vodka. Vodka (or in ukrainian tradition is spelled as gorilka) is strong colorless and tastless beverage which made from neutral refined (rectified) spirit obtained as a rule from grain (rye or wheat). Our tradition of vodka consumption is very interesting and connected with traditional ukrainian hospitality, lavishness and friendliness. Usually we drink about 0,5 l vodka per man in one evening with large meal and pleasure talk. Such tradition called “bukhat` s drugom”.

But for my blog I use vodka for many delicious cocktails. In this post I investigate some cocktail with “russian” name – Black Russian (great classic digestive cocktail) and its famous cousin – White Russian.

One of first scene with Black Russian Cocktail we can see in the Ninotchka (1939) movie with great Gretta Garbo as russian komissar Ninotchka (see also another great vodka cocktail). This cocktail is simple but elegant combination of quality vodka and coffee liqueur. In my liquor cabinet I have two famous coffee liqueur – mexican liqueur from pure Arabica coffee – Kahlua and jamaican liqueur from Blue Montain coffee – Tia Maria. Usually cocktail Black Russian are prepared as build cocktail, but some connoisseur advise to use shake.

Black Russian

45 ml vodka
20 ml coffee liqueur (Kahlua)
Build over ice on a rocks glass. No garnish.

or

Another Black Russian

45 ml vodka
20 ml coffee liqueur (Tia Maria)
Shake. Cocktail glass, maraschino cherry for garnish.

Black Russian Cocktail is sweet digestive (afterdinner) cocktail with bright taste of coffee. My choice is Black Russian Cocktail with Tia Maria liqueur, shaken. It is great very smooth, sweet and little dry cocktail. It has so complex taste with note of rum, sugarcane and vanilla. But it is no so black :)

This cocktail with a dash of fresh lemon juice turn into Black Magic Cocktail.

Black Magic

45 ml vodka
20 ml coffee liqueur
1 dash fresh lemon juice
Build in ice-filled rocks glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

It is great, smooth anв very pleasant afterdinner cocktail with interesting taste of coffee.

The Black Russian Cocktail with cream turn into White Russian Cocktail (Black Russian with White Cap if it are preparing as build :). This cocktail is so popular, some Dude consume nine the same during one film :)

White Russian

40 ml vodka
20 ml coffee liqueur
20 ml light cream
Build (shake). Rocks glass.

This cocktail is sweet and creamy booze. It is no my choice, but if you, dude, like sweet and creamy stuff is your choice… :)

For this Mixology Monday XXXVII: First Time (LUPEC Boston) I prepared two my favorite cocktails. This two cocktails is very discovered by me and I found “gold” proportion and technique for it. This is my ultimate or supreme-version.

First cocktail is a Mai Tai. Pure tiki-classic and best cocktail in the world.

SupreMai-Tai

30 ml aged Cuban rum Havana Club Anejo 7 Anos
30 ml aged dark rum Angostura 1824
15 ml orange curacao
15 ml orgeat
5 ml rock candy syrup
1 dash Angostura bitter
Shake all with a lot of cracked ice. Serve in apropriate rock glass with crushed ice. Garnish with beautiful flower.

This SupreMai-Tai has very smooth, a little sweet and gorgeous taste.

I try to use different flowers for my SupreMai-Tai. All of it look very good. For example – narcissus.

Second cocktail is Mojito. It is very simple cocktail. The preparation of the Mojito is an art.

SupreMojito

1 tsp. sugar
10 ml fresh lime juice
10 fresh mint leaves (Mentha piperita var. alba)
70 ml white cuban rum Havana Club Anejo Blanco
50 ml soda water (alkaline mineral water)
Muddle mint with sugar and juice. Add crushed ice, rum and stir well. Add crushed ice and sida. Garnish with lime wedge and mint sprig.

SupreMojito has bright and very fresh taste of mint and rum. It is very smooth and light cocktail.

This MxMo XXXV theme is “Broaden Your Horizons”. I think is very interesing and perspective theme for me. My wife help me to choose a cocktail and horizons which I investigate on this MxMo. Mixing with raw egg is my new horizons! Actually I fear (and hate) raw eggs. But for this MxMo I can beat my fear.

I decide to preapare White Lady Cocktail – really classic and famous cocktail. Good story of this cocktail you may read on Esquire Drink Database. This cocktail is realy monumental. Some imbabers, for example Anthony Hogg (in book Cocktails and Mixed Drinks), pay great attention to White Lady Cocktail. It take second place (after Martini!) in Big Seven by Anthony Hogg. White Lady Cocktail has so simple and elegant composition – gin, Cointreau, fresh lemon juice and dash of raw egg white.

White Lady

50 ml gin
25 ml Cointreau
25 ml fresh lemon juice
1 bsp. of raw eqq white
Shake well with a lot of cracked ice. Strain in to cocktail glass.

White Lady Cocktail is perfect drink with really smooth taste and great texture. The perfect white foam on the top is great garnish of this cocktail.